. 


•   IE    C  0  R  <D  L  E. 


S.  C.  FERGUSON 

AND 

E.  A.  ALLEN. 


CENTRAL  PUBLISHING  HOUSE, 

CINCINNATI. 
1884 


COPYRIGHT   BY 

S.  C.  FERGUSON  AND  E.  A.  ALLEN. 

188O 


* 


HE  design  of  this  work  is  to  rouse 
-:  to  honorable  effort  those  who  are 
wasting  their  time  and  energies  through 
indifference  to  life's  prizes.  In  the  fur- 
therance of  this  aim  the  authors  have 
endeavored  to  gather  from  all  possible 
sources  the  thoughts  of  those  wise  and 
earnest  men  and  women  who  have,  used 
their  pens  to  delineate  life  and  its  possibil- 
ities, its  joys  and  its  sorrows.  They  do  not  claim 
to  have  furnished  more  than  the  setting  in  which  are 
placed  these  "  GEMS"  of  thought  gathered  thus  from 
sources  widely  different. 

Their  hope  is,  that  they  may  be  able  to  rouse  in 
the  minds  of  the  careless  a  sense  of  the  value  of 
existence.  To  those  who  are  striving  nobly  for  true 
manhood  or  womanhood,  they  would  fain  bring  words 
of  encouragement.  They  trust  that  many  may  de- 
rive from  its  pages  inspirations  which  will  serve  to 
make  real  their  hopes  of  success  and  happiness. 

CINCINNATI,   January  i,   1880. 


2054882 


Life  ill  spent — Life's  Real  Value — A  Triumph  or  a  Defeat — Power 
over  Life — What  True  Life  Means — Prospective  View  of  Life — The 
Journey  Laborious — Man  does  not  live  for  himself — Failure  or  Success — 
Possibilities  of  Life— Steady  Aim  Necessary — Life  a  Struggle — Duty  of 
Right  Living, PAGE  29 


Thoughts  of  Home  —  We  never  forget  Home  —  Power  of  Home 
Thoughts  —  Home  Memories  —  Home  the  Fountain  of  Civilization  —  Influ- 
ence of  Home  —  Home  Experiences  —  Home  a  Sensitive  Place  —  Qualifi- 
cations of  Home  —  Home  Affections  —  In  what  a  Home  consists  —  Home 
Happiness  composed  of  Little  Things  —  Home  a  Type  of  Heaven,  38 

gfmttc    (Circle. 

Home  Circle  a  Delightful  Place—  The  Nursery  of  Affection—  The 
Heart's  Garden  —  Importance  of  Home  Affections  —  Requisites  of  Home 
Love  —  Importance  of  Home  Language  and  Habits  —  Home  Circle  the 
Center  of  Affection  —  Love  an  Important  Element  of  Home  Happiness  — 
Children  in  Home  Circle  —  Influence  emanating  from  Home  Circle  — 
Home  Circle  soon  broken,  ........  47 


Care  of  Parents  for  Children  —  Children  should  return  Parents' 
Love  —  Dangers  of  Forgetfulness  on  Part  of  Children  —  Duty  of  writing 
to  and  visiting  Parents  —  Children  should  try  to  make  Parents  Comforta- 
ble and  Happy  —  The  Love  of  Mother  to  Son  —  Son's  Duty  to  a  Mother  — 
Loss  of  a  Parent  —  The  Grave  of  a  Mother  ......  54 

Jnfuttcy. 

Infancy  the  Morning  of  Life  —  Parental  Anxiety  during  Infancy  — 
Parental  Responsibility  —  Parental  Duty  —  Influence  of  Infants  —  Infants 
the  Poetry  of  the  World  —  Infancy  and  Death  —  Graves  of  Infants,  60 


CONTENTS. 


Childhood  the  Happiest  Time  —  Child's  Soul  without  Character  — 
Power  of  Imitation  with  Children  —  Children  incited  by  Example  —  Praise 
of  Children  —  Reproving  Children  —  Parents'  Duty  to  make  Childhood 
Happy  —  Children  the  Ornament  of  Home  —  Fleeting  Period  of  Child^ 
hood,  ...........  PAGE  67 


Love  between  Brother  and  Sister  Pleasing  —  Power  of  a  Sister's 
Love  —  Depths  of  a  Sister's  Love  —  Love  for  a  Sister  a  Noble  Thing  — 
Power  of  a  Sister's  Influence  —  Sister's  Duty  in  this  Respect  —  Each 
Necessary  to  the  Other's  Welfare—  The  Ideal  Girl—  The  Ideal  Boy,  74 


Manhood  the  Isthmus  between  Two  Extremes  —  Pursuits  of  Each 
Age  —  Early  Manhood  Potential  for  Good  —  Claims  of  Society  on  Young 
Men  —  Young  Men's  Duty  in  this  Respect  —  Young  Men  should  cultivate 
their  Intellect  —  Thinking  makes  True  Manhood,  ....  80 


True  Womanhood  a  Noble  Thing  —  Error  Women  make—  Womanly 
Power  —  Woman's  Moral  Influence  —  Source  of  Woman's  Happiness  —  • 
A  Good  Woman  never  grows  old,  ......  88 

3-fat»»c    2-rsirtttciiitcis- 

An  Important  Theme  —  Parents'  'Duty  to  make  Happy  Homes  — 
Influence  of  a  Happy  .Home  —  In  what  a  Happy  Home  consists  —  Busi- 
ness Man's  Home  —  Pictures  in  a  Home  —  Conversation  at  Home  — 
Parents  should  study  Children's  Character  ......  96 

gfame  g)uisc§. 

Duty  ever  at  Hand  —  One  Danger  of  Home  Life  —  Children  trained 
at  Home  —  Home  Language  —  Happiness  of  Children  —  The  Domestic 
Seminary  —  Education  of  Children  —  Children's  Duties  to  Parents,  104 

$«m  of  ggife. 

An  Aim  Essential  —  Danger  of  an  Aimless  Life  —  Daily  Need  of 
Life  —  All  can  accomplish  Something  —  All  must  labor  —  Choice  of  an 
Occupation  —  Must  do  your  own  deciding  —  A  Second  Profession  —  Man- 
hood the  Most  Noble  Aim,  ........  1  1  1 


CONTENTS. 


All  Desirous  of  Success  —  The  Two  Ends  of  Life  —  Success  only  won 
by  Toil  —  Danger  of  overlooking  this  Fact  —  Earnestness  the  Secret  of 
Success  —  Traits  of  Character  Necessary  to  Success  —  All  can  accomplish 
Something  —  In  what  True  Success  consists,  .  .  .  PAGE  118 

gUgnst^   of  gabo*. 

Labor  the  Lot  of  All  —  Labor  a  Glory  —  Civilization  the  Result  of 
Labor  —  Life  necessarily  Routine  —  Labor  not  an  End  of  Life  —  Victories 
of  Labor—  All  Honest  Work  Honorable  ......  125 

gger'gevee'awee. 

Value  of  Perseverance  —  One  Man's  Work  Compared  with  the  Total 
Amount  —  All  Excellence  the  Result  of  Perseverance  —  Example  of  Gib- 
bon —  Results  of  Human  Perseverance  —  Nature's  Lesson  —  Perseverance 
and  Genius  ............  131 


Enterprise  distinct  from  Energy  —  Seeks  for  Novelty  —  Necessity  for 
Enterprise  —  Enterprise  an  Inheritance  —  Value  of  Self-reliance  —  Demands 
of  the  Hour,  ...........  138 


Energy  is  Force  of  Character  —  Resolution  and  Energy  —  Energy 
and  Wisdom  —  Man's  Duty  —  Value  of  Energy  —  Success  the  Result  of 
Energy  .............  145 


Value  of  Punctuality  —  Punctuality  a  Positive  Virtue  —  Punctuality 
the  Life  of  the  Universe  —  The  Value  of  Time  —  Punctuality  gives  Force 
to  Character  ............  151 


Necessity  of  Concentration  —  Must  concentrate  Energy  for  Success  — 
Evil  of  Dissipation  —  Concentration  not  One-sidedness  —  You  must  pay 
the  Price  of  Success  ..........  159 


Quality  of  Decision  —  Necessity    of   Decision  —  Courageous    Action 
necessary  —  Foster's  Remarks  on  Decision  —  Unhappy  Results  of  Indecis- 


8  CONTENTS. 

ion—  Decision  6f  Character  a  Necessity  of  the  Present  Age  —  Decision 
not  Undue  Haste,         .....        ...    PAGE    165 


Value  of  Self-confidence  —  Difficulties  a  Positive  Blessing  —  Reliance 
on  Good  Name-^-Great  Men  have  been  Self-reliant  —  We  admire  Self 
teliant  men  ............  172 

g*r>uctic«I   Sgolentg. 

What  is  meant  by  Practical  Talents  —  Difference  between  Practical 
and  Speculative  Ability  —  Knowledge  of  Men  Indispensable  —  Intellectual 
Knowledge  —  Education  —  Perfect  Knowledge  of  Few  Things,  .  179 

U^  due  ait  an. 

Value  of  Intellect  —  Education  a  Development  —  Education  covers 
the  Whole  of  Life  —  Education  Right  or  Wrong  —  A  Just  Appreciation 
of  Wisdom  —  Importance  of  Exact  Knowledge,  .  .  .  .187 


Necessity  of  Mental  Culture  —  Power  of  Trained  Intellect  —  Mental 
Training  Pleasant  and  within  Reach  of  All  —  Importance  of  Reading  — 
Train  the  Judgment  —  Thought,  .......  194 


In  what  Self-culture  consists  —  Necessity  of  Physical  Culture  —  Neces- 
sity of  Mental  Culture  —  Educating  Influence  of  Every-day  Life  —  Moral 
Culture  —  Self-culture  ever  pressing  its  Claims,  ....  201 


Influence  of  Literature  —  Literature  and  Encouragement  —  Consola- 
tion of  Literature  —  Literature  the  Soul  of  Action  —  How  to  choose 
Books  —  Influence  of  Reading  on  Personal  Character  —  Power  of  the 
Press,  ........  ....  207 


Intellectual  Triumphs  —  How  shown  —  What  Necessary  for  its  Attain- 
ment —  Best  Results  obtained  by  training  All  the  Faculties  —  Obtained  by 
Years  of  Exertion,  ..........  211 

(Cbolcc  of   (Cotttpnnlotio-. 

Influence  of  Associates  —  Character  shown  by  the  Company  you 
keep  —  No  One  can  afford  to  associate  with  Bad  Company  —  Power 


CONTENTS.  9 

of  Bad  Associates  to  debase  you  —  Persons  whom  Society  has  most  to 
fear  —  Why  Evil  Associates  debase  us  —  Influence  of  Good  Company  — 
Rank  in  Society  determined  by  Choice  of  Companions,  .  PAGE  216 


Value  of  Friendship  —  Language  of  Friendship  a  Varied  One  —  All 
need  Friends  —  Test  of  Friendship  —  Friendship  a  Tender  Sentiment  — 
Poverty  a  Test  of  Friendship  —  Death  of  a  Friendship  —  Old  Friends,  223 

ggawce  of  @t*g*o*n. 

Power  of  Custom  —  Likes  and  Dislikes  —  Creatures  of  Custom  —  Habit 
man's  Best  Friend  or  Worst  Enemy  —  How  Habits  grow  —  Evil  Habits 
must  be  conquered  —  Importance  of  Good  Habits  —  How  to  form  Good 
Habits,  ........  .  228 


Nature  of  Influence  —  Influence  Immortal  —  Solemn  Thought  —  Every 
Thing  exerts  Influence  —  Examples  from  Nature  —  Influence  of  Great 
Men  —  Your  Influence  for  Good  or  for  Evil  —  Influence  of  Human 
Actions  —  Duty  of  exerting  a  Good  Influence  —  Responsibility  for  our 
Influence,  ...........  236 


Character  a  Great  Motive  Power  —  Value  of  Good  Character  —  Char- 
acter is  Power  —  Difference  between  Character  and  Reputation  —  Charac- 
ter of  Slow  Growth  —  Character  our  Own  —  Character  always  acting  — 
Character  a  Grand  Thing,  ........  243 


Value  of  Prudence  —  Difficulty  of  defining  Prudence  —  The  Tongue 
of  Prudence,      ...........     247 


Beauty  of  Temperance  —  Danger  of  Impulse  —  Temperance  and 
Health  —  Temperance  dwells  in  the  Heart  —  Temperance  consists  in  Self- 
control  —  Must  be  Temperate  to  make  the  Most  of  Life,  .  .  252 


In  what  Frugality  consists  —  Frugality  and  Liberality  —  Frugality 
necessary  to  Acquisition  of  Wealth  —  The  Danger  of  going  beyond  the 
Income  —  Influence  of  Economy  on  the  Other  Emotions,  .  .  258 


10  CONTENTS. 


Patience  the  Ballast  of  the  Soul  —  Necessity  of  Patience  —  Examples 
of  Eminent  Men  —  Patience  an  Element  of  Home  Happiness,  PAGE  264 


Self-control  a  Form  of  Courage  —  Importance  of  Mental  Faculties  — 
Government  and  Progress  —  Composure  Highest  Form  of  Power  —  Strong 
Temper  not  always  a  Bad  One—  Man  born  for  Dominion,  .  .  270 


In  what  Courage  consists  —  Courage  not  confined  to  the  Battle- 
field —  Occasion  for  Courage  in  Domestic  Life  —  Courage  of  Endurance 
for  Conscience's  Sake,  .  .  .......  275 


Charity  like  Dew  from  Heaven  —  Charity  a  Lovable  Trait  —  The 
Spirit  of  Charity  always  doing  Good  —  Universal  Charity  —  Death  and 
Charity  .............  279 


Kindness  the  Music  of  Good-will  —  Kindness  makes  Sunshine  — 
Should  never  feel  ashamed  of  Kindness  —  Kindness  not  necessarily 
shown  in  Gifts  —  Kindness  shown  in  Little  Things  —  Influence  of  Unno- 
ticed Kindness—  Showing  Kindness  a  Noble  Revenge  —  Kind  Words 
and  their  influence,  ...  ......  286 

Benevolence. 

Doing  Good  a  Happy  Act  —  No  Excess  of  Good  Deeds  —  Benevo- 
lence necessary  to  a  Perfect  Life  —  Liberality  not  Profuseness  —  Benevo- 
lence during  Life,  .  .......  .  291 


Truth  always  Consistent  —  Falsehood  Perplexing  —  Strict  Veracity 
has  regard  to  Looks  and  Actions  —  Lying  a  Cowardly  Trait  —  Danger  of 
too  close  Adherence  to  Truth  due  to  Lack  of  Caution,  .  .  .  296 


Honor  a  Glorious  Trait  of  Character  —  Honor  shown  in  Little  Acts  — 
Honor  and  Virtue  not  the  Same,      .......     299 


CONTENTS.  11 


Policy  of  the  Nature  of  Cunning  —  Extent  of  this  Principle  —  A  Char- 
acteristic Trait  of  the  Age  —  Policy  not  Prudence  or  Caution  —  Policy  not 
Discretion  —  Danger  of  judging  from  Appearance,  .  .  PAGE  303 


Egotism  a  Disagreeable  Trait  —  Egotism,  how  shown  —  Why  we  dis- 
like Egotism  in  Others  —  Danger  of  Self-love  —  The  True  Line  between 
Egotism  and  Self-conceit,  .......  .  306 


Vanity  requires  Skill  in  the  Management  —  Danger  of  Love  of  Ap- 
plause —  Vanity  attacks  Every  Thing  —  Deception  of  Vanity  —  Vanity  not 
wholly  Bad  —  Vanity  ever  present.  .  .  .....  311 


Nature  of  Selfishness  —  Selfishness  destructive  of  Happiness  —  Self- 
ishness a  Narrow  Quality  —  Selfishness  contracts  the  Mind  —  Selfishness 
shows  itself  in  Many  Ways  —  Last  Hours  of  a  Selfish  Life,  .  .  314 


Obstinacy  a  Trait  of  Low  Minds  —  Peculiar  Property  of  Obstinacy  — 
Obsrinacy  a  Barrier  to  Improvement  —  Obstinacy  not  Firmness  —  Neces- 
sity of  sometimes  yielding  —  Be  not  in  a  Hurry  to  change  Opinion,  318 

SI  si  titled. 

Nature  of  Calumny  —  Slander  never  tired  —  Slander  loved  only  by 
the  Base  —  Slander  can  not  injure  a  Good  Man  —  Slander  easily  started  — 
Your  Own  Character  shown  in  describing  Another's  —  Speak  kindly  of 
the  Absent,  ...........  323 


Irritability  an  Unpleasant  Quality  —  The  Source  of  Envy  and  Dis- 
content —  Sin  of  fretting  —  Fretting  easy  to  indulge  —  Evidence  of  a  Moral 
Weakness  —  Evidence  of  Littleness  of  Soul,  .....  328 


Envy  Born  of  Pride  —  Envy  a  Foolish  Trait  —  Envy  destroy's  One's 
Own  Happiness  —  Envy  seeks  to  pull  down  Others  —  Envy  Cruel  in  pur- 
suit —  Envy  grows  in  All  Hearts,  .......  332 


12  CONTENTS. 


£D  t  §  c  n  tit  c  rti. 

A  Discontented  Man  wretched  —  Discontent  at  Times  wicked  —  Uni- 
versality of  Discontent  —  Contentment  Felicity  —  Duty  to  enjoy  God's 
Blessing—  Contentment  abides  with  Little  Things  —  Contentment  not 
Supine  Satisfaction  —  Folly  of  Discontent,  ....  PAGE  337 


Deceit  an  Obstacle  to  Happiness  —  Deceit  in  Friendship  Most  De- 
testable,— Deceit  Inimical  to  Society  —  Deception  and  Hypocrisy  —  Decep- 
tion assumes  Many  Forms,  ........  341 


A  Busybody  disliked  by  All  —  Allied  to  Envy  and  Slander  —  The 
Source  of  Many  Troubles  —  Mischief  wrought  by  an  Intermeddler  —  Be- 
ware of  Curiosity  —  A  Meddler  not  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  Charity,  345 


Anger  an  Impotent  Quality  —  Anger  unmans  a  Man  —  Fit  Occasions 
for  Indignation  —  Anger  always  Terrible  or  Ridiculous  —  Strong  Temper 
not  of  Necessity  a  Bad  One,  ...  ....  349 


Ambition  a  Deceptive  Quality  —  Ambition  fatal  to  Happiness—  Am- 
bition fatal  to  Friendship  —  Ambition  a  Shadowy  Quality  —  Ambition  not 
Aspiration  —  Ambition  an  Excessive  Quality  —  Ambitious  of  True  Honor 
a  Grand  Thing,  .  ........  353 


Importance  of  Politeness  —  Manner  influences  Worldly  Opinion  — 
Fascinating  Manners  not  Politeness  —  Politeness  does  not  depend  on 
National  Peculiarities  —  Politeness  is  Kindness  —  Description  of  a  Gentle- 
man —  Politeness  comes  of  Sincerity  —  Politeness  a  Noble  Trait  of  Char- 
acter —  Business  Value  of  Politeness  —  Good  Manners  can  not  be  laid 
aside  .............  360 


Mutual  Intercourse  necessary  to  Happiness  —  Society  the  Balm  of 
Life  —  Duty  of  doing  Something  for  Society  —  All  Social  Duties  Recip-> 
rocal  —  Society  the  Spirit  of  Life  —  Anomalies  of  Society  explained  — 
Happy  Influence  of  Society,  ........  367 


CONTENTS.  13 


Dignity  defined  —  Dignity  not  Dependent  on  Place  —  Dignity  the 
Ennobling  Quality  of  Politeness  —  Three  Kinds  of  Dignity  —  Dignity  not 
Conceit  —  Dignity  not  Hauteur  and  Pride,  ....  PAGE  371 


Affability  an  Ornament  —  Affability  of  Value  —  Why  Affability  pro- 
motes Success  —  Not  well  enough  acquainted  with  Each  Other  —  Duty 
of  cultivating  Affability  —  Whom  to  be  Affable  with,  .  .  .  .  375 


Dress  denotes  the  Man  —  Duty  of  Dressing  —  Love  of  Beauty  right  — 
Mental  Qualities  shown  by  the  Toilet  —  Beauty  of  Simplicity  —  The  Style 
of  Dress  —  Dress  need  not  be  Costly  —  Dress  of  a  Gentleman  —  Dandies 
Ridiculous,  ..........  .  382 


Gentleness  a  Pleasing  Quality  —  We  do  not  sufficiently  value  Gen- 
tleness —  Power  of  Gentleness  —  Gentleness  belongs  to  Virtue  —  Great 
Power  always  Gentle  in  Expression  —  Power  in  Gentle  Words  —  Founda- 
tion of  True  Gentleness,  .........  287 


Modesty  a  Mark  of  Wisdom  —  Modesty  a  Beautiful  Setting  to 
Talents  —  All  Great  Events  complete  themselves  in  Silence  —  Modesty 
not  Bashfulness  —  Modesty  Different  from  Reserve  —  Modesty  Crowning 
Ornament  of  Woman,  .........  391 


Love  a  Ruling  Element  —  Love  a  Need  of  the  Heart  —  Power  of 
Love  —  Love  a  Proof  of  Moral  Excellence  —  Love  elevates  Life  —  Duty  to 
study  the  Nature  of  Love  —  Love  founded  on  Esteem  and  Respect  —  Lovo 
Dependent  on  Etiquette  —  Woman's  Love  Stronger  than  Man's  —  LOVQ 
purifies  the  Heart,  ..........  400 


Importance  of  the  Question  —  Mistaken  Notions  as  to  Time  —  Court- 
ship and  Wedded  Love  —  Happiness  Dependent  on  Love  —  All  Jest  out 
of  Place  —  Duty  of  Careful  Thought  on  Courtship  —  Marriage  should  be 


14  CONTENTS. 

made  a  Study—  Courtship  a  Voyage  of  Discovery'  —  The  True  Companion 
must  be  sought  for  —  A  Critical  Point  in  a  Woman's  Life  —  Must  be  an 
Equal  —  Courtship  Beautiful,  ......  PAGE  407 


Marriage  a  Solemn  Spectacle  —  Human  Happiness  ever  accompa- 
nied by  Sorrow  —  Loving  Trust  of  Woman  —  Importance  of  the  Act  — 
M  image  the  Entrance  to  a  New  World—  Influence  of  a  Wife's  Moral 
Character  —  Discipline  of  the  Affections  —  Marriage  a  Necessity  —  Marriage 
should  be  made  a  Study  —  Why  Disappointments  arise  —  Marriage  a  Real 
and  Earnest  Affair,  .  .........  415 


Marriage  universally  expected  —  Happiness  of  Single  Life  —  Matri- 
mony brings  Cares  as  well  as  Joys  —  Marriage  not  the  Chief  End  of 
Life  —  Marriage  the  More  Preferable  State  —  Jeremy  Taylor's  Contrast 
of  the  Two  States  —  Early  Marriages  Injudicious  —  Why  Some  remain 
Single,  ............  422 

£Uni?i?Icd  ggifc. 

Marriage  the  Bond  of  Social  Order  —  Influence  of  a  Good  Wife— 
Nature  of  the  Marriage  Tie  —  Gold  can  not  purchase  Love  —  Unhappy 
Marriages  —  Human  to  see  the  Good  Side  of  Things  past  —  Happiness 
found  in  consulting  the  Happiness  of  Others  —  Elevating  Influence  of 
Marriage,  ...........  429 

$>«*«§  of  £Mai?t?tctl  gflfe. 

Duty  of  Married  Life  can  not  be  shaken  off  —  Marriage  does  not 
change  Human  Nature  —  Love  not  the  Only  'Requisite  of  Domestic 
Felicity  —  Chance  to  make  or  mar  Life  —  Danger  from  Familiarity  — 
Patience  demanded  —  Must  expect  Imperfections  —  Must  seek  the  Hap- 
piness of  Others  —  Duty  of  forgetting  Self,  .....  436 

fgetalg  of  ^liirt-icd   §gsfe. 

Trials  to  be  expected  —  Death  of  Wedded  Love  —  Daily  Life  the 
Test  of  Married  Love  —  Domestic  Happiness  reached  through  Trials  ___ 
Must  learn  to  bear  with  the  Faults  of  Each  Other  —  Imperfections  of 
Character  make  the  Strongest  Claims  on  our  Love  —  Many  Trials  arise 
from  Mistaken  Notions  as  to  Economy  —  Necessity  of  having  a 
Home,  ............  442 


CONTENTS.  15 


True  Marriage  the  Growth  of  Years  —  There  must  be  a  Mutual 
Self-saerifice  —  Keep  Faults  to  yourself—  Constant  Tenderness  and  Care 
necessary  —  Proofs  of  Affection  should  be  granted  —  Duty  of  Husbands  — 
Duty  of  Wives  —  Man  desires  Woman's  Sympathy  and  Love  —  Wives 
should  consult  Husbands'  Taste,  .....  PAGE  448 


Baseness  of  this  Passion  —  Distinction  between  Jealousy  and  Envy  — 
Jealousy  preferable  to  Envy  —  Jealousy  assumes  Many  Forms  —  No  One 
willing  to  Acknowledge  Jealousy  —  Jealousy  a  Deadly  Thing  —  Suspicion 
an  Enemy  to  Happiness,  ........  453 


Regret  a  Sad  Word—  All  have  felt  it—  The  Profoundest  Sorrows 
self-wrought  —  Death  an  Occasion  of  Much  Regret  —  Shadowed  Lives  — 
How  to  escape  regret,  .........  457 


Memory  the  Noblest  Gift  of  Providence  —  Memory  the  Golden 
Cord  —  Treasure  of  a  Good  Memory  —  Memory  of  Past  Days  —  Slight 
Things  suffice  to  recall  Past  Memories  —  The  Reminiscences  of  Youth  — 
Memory  sometimes  Painful  —  Memory  crowds  Years  into  Moments,  465 


Hope  accomplishes  All  Things  —  Moderate  Hope  Helpful  —  Sustain- 
ing Power  of  Hope  —  Should  only  hope  for  Probable  Things  —  Hope  ever 
with  us  —  Hope  lives  in  the  Future  —  The  Morality  of  Hope  —  A  True 
Hope  ever  Present  —  Hopes  and  Fears  —  Rise  above  Trouble,  .  472 


Prosperity  the  Test  of  Character  —  A  Degree  of  Prosperity  to  be 
reasonably  hoped  for  —  Continuous  Prosperity  not  a  Good  Thing  —  How 
to  prosper  —  Prosperity  and  Happiness  not  Identical  —  Early  Adversity 
the  Foundation  of  Future  Prosperity  —  Hardships  a  Good  Thing,  .  476 


Details  Important  —  Trifles  make  Success  —  No  Such  Thing  as  Tri- 
fles in  Life  —  Trifles  make  the  Difference  between  First  and  Second 


X 


CONTENTS. 


Class  Work  —  Unhappiness  of  Life  caused  by  Trifles  —  Trifles  make  an 
Influence,      ..........    PAGE    482 


Spare  Moments  the  Gold-dust  of  Time  —  Time  our  Estate  —  What 
Car.  be  done  in  Leisure  Time  —  Busiest  Persons  have  always  the  Most 
Time  —  Time  can  not  be  recalled  —  Effort  required  to  employ  Time 
slightly  —  Death  teaches  the  Value  of  Time,  .....  487 


Happiness  the  Principal  Thing  —  Deceitfulness  of  Happiness  —  Hap- 
•  piness  like  To-morrow  —  Wealth  and  Fame  not  Necessary  to  Happiness  — 
Can  not  control  our  Outward  Surroundings  —  Circumstances  not  essential 
to  Happiness  —  Disposition  to  enjoy  Life  what  is  wanted  —  Enjoy  Present 
Surroundings  —  Content  is  Happiness  —  Must  seek  for  Happiness  in  the 
Right  Way,  .  ......  ...  494 


True  Nobility  often  counterfeited  —  Man  not  rated  by  his  Posses- 
sions —  Greatness  often  Obscure  —  Some  Great  in  Evil  —  Influence  of 
Noble  Principles  —  True  Nobility  Modest  in  Expression  —  Nobility  of 
Character  Reverential  —  True  Nobility  within  Reach  of  All,  .  .  500 

&  good  g^atttc. 

A  Good  Name  the  Richest  Possession  —  Based  on  Permanent  Ex- 
cellence —  The  Result  of  Individual  Exertion  —  Influence  of  Youth  on 
Life  —  Rewards  of  possessing  a  Good  Name  —  Evil  of  being  devoid 
of  it  ........  .....  507 


Meditation  the  Soul's  Perspective  Glass  —  Must  learn  to  subdue  the 
!>.v.  pulses—  Meditation  the  Counselor  of  the  Mental  Powers  —  Guard 
against  Impure  Thoughts  —  Duty  of  Thinking,  .  .  .  .511 


Principles  the  Springs  of  our  Actions  —  Danger  of  Loose  Princi- 
pies  —  Good  Principles  ever  acting  —  False  Principles,       .        .        .     516 


Must  Rightly  use  Small  Opportunities  —  Opportunity  and  Ability  — 
have  a  Few  Opportunities  —  Must  not  wait  for  Opportunity,       .     520 


CONTENTS.  17 


Duty  ever  Present  with  us  —  Duty  based  on  Justice  —  We  must  will  to 
do  our  Duty  —  Duty  and  Might  —  Duty  does  not  fear  Censure,    PAGE  524 


Life  Full  of  Trials  —  Joy  and  Sorrow  near  together  —  Trials  sent  for 
our  Good  —  Wisdom  won  by  Trials  —  Man  like  a  Sword  —  Never  meet 
Trouble  Half  Way  —  Sorrow  should  remind  us  of  God,  .  .  .  528 


Sickness  draws  us  near  to  God  —  Sickness  softens  the  Heart  —  Sick- 
ness renders  us  All  Equals  —  The  Blessings  of  Sickness  —  Sickness  and 
Health  —  Discipline  of  a  Sick-bed,  .......  532 


Sorrows  gather  around  Great  Souls  —  Sorrows  make  the  Mind 
Genial  —  Life  abounds  in  Sorrowful  Scenes  —  Sorrow  the  Noblest  of  Dis- 
cipline —  Christianity  a  Religion  of  Sorrow  —  Suffering  must  be  patiently 
submitted  to  —  Sorrow  sometimes  too  Sacred  to  be  spoken  of  —  Must  not 
give  way  to  Causeless  Sorrow,  .  .  '  .  .  .  .  .  539 


Poverty  a  Valued  Discipline  —  Evils  of  Poverty  Imaginary  —  Genius 
a  Gift  of  Poverty  —  The  Advantages  of  struggling  with  Poverty  —  Poverty 
the  Test  of  Civility  —  Real  Wants  of  Mankind  but  Few  —  Misfortune  of 
beginning  Life  Rich  —  Poverty  of  the  Mind  Most  Deplorable,  .  545 


The  Elasticity  of  the  Human  Mind  —  Affliction  a  School  of  Virtue  — 
Adversity  the  Touchstone  of  Character  —  The  Uncertainty  of  Human 
Life  —  Suffering  Divinely  appointed  —  Thought  when  Death  comes,  551 


Disappointments  Divinely  appointed  —  Disappointments  the  Lot  of 
Man—  Shadowed  Lives  —  Many  disappointed  because  they  do  not  look 
for  Happiness  in  the  Right  Way  —  Must  meet  Disappointments  Bravely  — 
Must  be  accepted  with  Resignation  —  Disappointments  sometimes  arise 
from  Undue  Expectations  —  Time  disappoints  our  Cherished  plans  —  Life 
a  Variegated  Scene,  .........  556 


18  CONTENTS. 


Ultimate  Success  attained  through  Present  Failure  —  Failures  for 
our  Own  Good  —  The  True  Hero  perseveres  in  Spite  of  Failure  —  Do  not 
give  Way  to  Despair  —  No  One  succeeds  in  All  his  Undertakings  —  Many 
ruined  by  Early  Success  —  How  to  view  Past  Mistakes  —  Sorrows  of 
Mankind  traced  to  Blighted  Hopes  —  The  Brave  -  hearted  Man  rises 
Superior  to  Present  Difficulties,  .  .....  PAGE  564. 


Dark  Hours  as  well  as  Bright  Ones  —  Dire  Effects  of  Despair  — 
Influence  of  Hope  —  Duty  of  resisting  Despondency—  Despondency  a 
Failure  of  Duty  —  To  give  Way  to  Despair  not  Manly  —  Lesson  from 
Nature  —  Causeless  Depression  of  Spirits  —  Human  Nature  to  see  the 
Dark  Side,  ...........  570 


Faith  the  Prophet  of  the  Soul  —  Faith  a  Necessity  —  Faith  a  Reason- 
able Thing  —  Faith  ever  with  us  —  Difference  between  Morality  and 
Faith  —  Faith  expands  the  Intellect  —  Must  not  judge  the  Outward  Mani- 
festations of  Faith  —  Faith  and  Works,  ......  575 


Necessity  of  Prayer  —  Prayer  arises  from  the  Heart  —  Prayer  and 
Outward  Action  —  Prayer  the  Password  to  Heaven  —  Family  Worship  — 
Necessity*  of  Daily  Worship  —  Family  Prayers  knit  together  the  Home— 
We  often  pray  Improperly  —  What  God  looketh  at  in  Prayers  —  The 
Lord's  Prayer,  ...........  580 


Religion  binds  Man  to  God  —  True  Religion  a  Noble  Thing  —  Effecf 
of  Religion  —  Religion  Full  of  Joys  —  Religion  a  Natural  Thing  —  Religion 
not  established  by  Reason  —  Sorrow  for  Sin  —  Three  Modes  of  bearing 
Ills  of  Life  —  Surrounded  by  Motives  to  Religion  —  Religion  a  Refining 
Influence  —  Religion  teaches  the  Dignity  of  Common  Life  —  Religion 
enforces  the  doing  of  Common  Duties,  .....  587 

fllotl  In  TXsiftiPc. 

"The  Heavens  proclaim  the  Glory  of  God"  —  The  Gospel  written 
•on  Nature  —  Distinguishing  Features  of  God's  Works  —  Study  of  Nature 


CONTENTS.  19 

leads  to  True  Religion  —  Plan  running  through  Nature's  Works  —  Won- 
drous Natural  Scenes  conduce  to  a  Proper  View  of  God,    .     PAGE     592 


Eulogy  of  the  Bible  —  The  Bible  the  Oldest  Monument  Extant  — 
The  Bible  Adapted  to  Every  Condition  —  The  Bible  the  Foundation  of  our 
Religious  Faith  —  The  Bible  our  Constant  Attendant  —  The  Bible  a  Tried 
Book—  The  Scriptures  Adapted  to  All  Times  of  Life—  The  Bible  gives 
us  a  Sure  Foundation  to  stand  upon,  ......  596 

^itiw^e  §|<fe. 

Importance  of  this  Question  —  Changes  of  the  Seasons  proving 
Future  Life  —  Men  at  All  Times  have  pondered  the  Question  of  Death  — 
Tenable  Ground  for  the  Hope  of  Future  Life  —  Visions  on  Death- 
bed3' ........  •  599 

g£«w»e  attd 

Insignificance  of  Man  as  compared  to  Eternity  —  The  Hour-glass 
Emblematical  of  the  World  —  The  Closing  Year  of  our  Life  —  Transitory 
Period  of  Human  Life  —  The  Vanities  and  Contentions  of  Life  viewed 
from  the  Stand-point  of  Eternity,  .  .....  602 


The  Beauty  of  Age  —  Different  Ages  of  Life  contrasted  —  In  the 
Realities  of  Life  we  lose  Sight  of  the  Dreams  of  Youth  —  Age  should 
present  the  Grandest  Thoughts  —  Age  has  no  Terror  to  those  who  see  it 
near  —  The  True  Man  does  not  wish  to  be  a  Child  again  —  Death  the 
Transition  Stage  to  a  More  Glorious  and  Perfect  Life  —  In  Death  we  are 
All  Equal—  Should  Cultivate  Cheerful  Thoughts  about  Death—  Poem  on 
Death,  ............  608 


&E  can  conceive  of  no  spectacle  better  calcu- 
lated to  lead  the  mind  to  serious  reflections 
than  that  of  an  aged  person,  who  has  mis- 
spent a  long  life,  and  who,  when  standing 
near  the  end  of  life's  journey,  looks  down 
the  long  vista  of  his  years,  only  to  recall  opportuni- 
ties unimproved.  Now  that  it  is  all  too  late,  he  can 
plainly  see  where  he  passed  by  in  heedless  haste  the 
real  "gems  of  life"  in  pursuit  of  the  glittering  gew- 
gaws of  pleasure,  but  which,  when  gained,  like  the 
apples  of  Sodom,  turned  to  ashes  in  his  very  grasp. 
What  a  different  course  would  he  pursue  would  time 
but  turn  backwards  in  his  flight  and  he  be  allowed 
to  commence  anew  to  weave  the  "tangled  web  of 
life."  But  this  is  not  vouchsafed  him.  Regrets  are 
useless,  save  when  they  awaken  in  the  minds  of 
youth  a  wish  to  avoid  errors  and  a  desire  to  gather 
only  the  true  "jewels  of  life." 


22  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Life,  with  its  thousand  voices  wailing  and  exult- 
ing, reproving  and  exalting,  is  calling  upon  you. 
Arouse,  and  gird  yourself  for  the  race.  Up  and  on- 
ward, and 

"Waking, 
Be  awake  to  sleep  no  more." 

Not  alone  by  its  ultimate  destiny,  but  by  its  im- 
mediate obligations,  uses,  enjoyment,  and  advantages, 
must  be  estimated  the  infinite  and  untold  value  of  life. 
It  is  a  great  mission  on  which  you  are  sent.  It  is 
the  choicest  gift  in  the  bounty  of  heaven  committed 
to  your  wise  and  diligent  keeping,  and  is  associated 
with  countless  benefits  and  priceless  boons  which 
heaven  alone  has  power  to  bestow.  But,  alas !  its 
possibilities  for  woe  are  equal  to  those  of  weal. 

It  is  a  crowning  triumph  or  a  disastrous  defeat, 
garlands  or  chains,  a  prison  or  a  prize.  We  need 
the  eloquence  of  Ulysses  to  plead  in  our  behalf,  the 
arrows  of  Hercules  to  do  battle  on  our  sidr:.  It  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  you  to  make  the  journey 
of  life  a  successful  one.  To  do  so  you  must  begin 
with  right  ideas.  If  you  are  mistaken  in  your  pres- 
ent estimates  it  is  best  to  be  undeceived  at  the  first, 
even  though  it  cast  a  shadow  on  your  brow.  It  is 
true,  that  life  is  not  mean,  but  it  is  grand.  It  is  also 
a  real  and  earnest  thing.  It  has  homely  details, 
painful  passages,  and  a  crown  of  care  for  every  brow. 

We  seek  to  inspire  you  with  a  wish  and  a  will  to 
meet  it  with  a  brave  spirit.  We  seek  to  point  you 
to  its  nobler  meanings  and  its  higher  results.  The 
tinsel  with  which  your  imagination  has  invested  it 


LIFE.  23 

all  fall  off  of  itself  so  soon  as  you  have  fairly 
entered  on  its  experience.  So  we  say  to  you,  take 
up  life's  duties  now,  learn  something  of  what  life 
is  before  you  take  upon  yourself  its  great  respon- 
sibilities. 

Great  destinies  lie  shrouded  in  your  swiftly  pass- 
ing hours ;  great  responsibilities  stand  in  the  pas- 
sages of  every-day  life;  great  dangers  lie  hidden  in 
the  by-paths  of  life's  great  highway ;  great  uncertainty 
hangs  over  your  future  history.  God  has  given  you 
existence,  with  full  power  and  opportunity  to  improve 
it  and  be  happy ;  he  has  given  you  equal  power  to 
despise  the  gift  and  be  wretched;  which  you  will  do 
is  the  great  problem  to  be  solved  by  your  choice  and 
conduct.  Your  bliss  or  misery  in  two  worlds  hangs 
pivoted  in. the  balance. 

With  God  and  a  wish  to  do  right  in  human  life 
it  becomes  essentially  a  noble  and  beautiful  thing. 
Every  youth  should  form  at  the  outset  of  his  career 
the  solemn  purpose  to  make  the  most  and  the  best 
of  the  powers  which  God  has  given  him,  and  to  turn 
to  the  best  possible  account  every  outward  advantage 
within  his  reach.  This  purpose  must  carry  with  it 
the  assent  of  the  reason,  the  approval  of  the  con- 
science, the  sober  judgment  of  the  intellect.  It 
should  thus  embody  within  itself  whatever  is  vehe- 
ment in  desire,  inspiring  in  hope,  thrilling  in  en- 
thusiasm, and  intense  in  desperate  resolve.  To  live 
a  life  with  such  a  purpose  is  a  peerless  privilege, 
no  matter  at  what  cost  of  transient  pain  or  unre- 
mitting toil. 


24  GOLDEX  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

It  is  a  thing  above  professions,  callings,  and  creeds. 
It  is  a  thing  which  brings  to  its  nourishment  all  good, 
and  appropriates  to  its  development  of  power  all  evil. 
It  is  the  greatest  and  best  thing  under  the  whole 
heavens.  Place  can  not  enhance  its  honor;  wealth 
can  not  add  to  its  value.  Its  course  lies  through 
true  manhood  and  womanhood ;  through  true  father- 
hood and  motherhood ;  through  true  friendship  and 
relationship  of  all  legitimate  kinds — of  all  natural 
sorts  whatever.  It  lies  through  sorrow  and  pain  and 
poverty  and  all  earthly  discipline.  It  lies  through 
unswerving  trust  in  God  and  man.  It  lies  through 
patient  and  self-denying  heroism.  It  lies  through 
all  heaven  prescribed  and  conscientious  duty;  and  it 
leads  as  straight  to  heaven's  brightest  gate  as  the 
path  of  a  sunbeam  leads  to  the  bosom  of  a  flower. 

Many  of  you  to-day  are  just  starting  on  the  du- 
ties of  active  life.  The  volume  of  the  future  lies 
unopened  before  you.  Its  covers  are  illuminated  by 
the  pictures  of  fancy,  and  its  edges  are  gleaming 
with  the  golden  tints  of  hope.  Vainly  you  strive  to 
loosen  its  wondrous  clasp;  'tis  a  task  which  none  but 
the  hand  of  Time  can  accomplish.  Life  is  before 
you — not  earthly  life  alone,  but  life  ;  a  thread  run- 
ning interminably  through  the  warp  of  eternity.  It 
is  a  sweet  as  well  as  a  great  and  wondrous  thing. 
Man  may  make  life  what  he  pleases  and  give  it  as 
much  worth,  both  for  himself  and  others,  as  he  has 
energy  for. 

The  journey  is  a  laborious  one,  and  you  must  not 
expect  to  find  the  road  all  smooth.  And  whether 


LIFE.  25 

rich  or  poor,  high  or  low,  you  will  be  disappointed  if 
you  build  on  any  other  foundation.  Take  life  like 
a  man ;  take  it  just  as  though  it  was  as  it  is — an 
earnest,  vital,  essential  affair.  Take  it  just  as  though 
you  personally  were  born  to  the  task  of  performing 
a  merry  part  in  it — as  though  the  world  had  waited 
for  your  coming.  Live  for  something,  and  for  some- 
thing worthy  of  life  and  its  capabilities  and  oppor- 
tunities, for  noble  deeds  and  achievements.  Every 
man  and  every  woman  has  his  or  her  assignments  in 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  daily  life.  We  are 
in  the  world  to  make  the  world  better,  to  lift  it  up  to 
higher  levels  of  enjoyment  and  progress,  to  make 
the  hearts  and  homes  brighter  and  happier  by  de- 
voting to  our  fellows  our  best  thoughts,  activities, 
and  influences. 

It  is  the  motto  of  every  true  heart  and  the  genius 
of  every  noble  life  that  no  man  liveth  to  himself — lives 
chiefly  for  his  own  selfish  good.  It  is  a  law  of  our 
intellectual  and  moral  being  that  we  promote  our  own 
real  happiness  in  the  exact  proportions  we  contribute 
to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  others.  Nothing 
worthy  the  name  of  happiness  is  the  experience  of 
those  who  live  only  for  themselves,  all  oblivious  to 
the  welfare  of  their  fellows.  That  only  is  the  true 
philosophy  which  recognizes  and  works  out  the  prin- 
ciple in  daily  life  that — 

"Life  was  lent  for  noble  deeds." 

Life  embraces  in  its  comprehensiveness  a  just  re- 
turn of  failure  and  success  as  the  result  of  individual! 


26  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

jrfcrseverance  and  labor.  Live  for  something  definite 
and  practical ;  take  hold  of  things  with  a  will,  and 
they  will  yield  to  you  and  become  the  ministers  of 
your  own  happiness  and  that  of  others.  Nothing 
within  the  realm  of  the  possible  can  withstand  the 
man  or  woman  who  is  intelligently  bent  on  success. 
Every  person  carries  within  the  key  that  unlocks 
either  door  of  success  or  failure.  Which  shall  it 
be  ?  All  desire  success ;  the  problem  of  life  is  its 
winning. 

Strength,  bravery,  dexterity,  and  unfaltering  nerve 
and  resolution  must  be  the  portion  and  attribute  of 
those  who  resolve  to  pursue  fortune  along  the  rugged 
road  of  life.  Their  path  will  often  lie  amid  rocks 
and  crags,  and  not  on  lawns  and  among  lilies.  A 
great  action  is  always  preceded  by  a  great  purpose. 
History  and  daily  life  are  full  of  examples  to  show 
us  that  the  measure  of  human  achievements  has 
always  been  proportional  to  the  amount  of  human 
daring  and  doing.  Deal  with  questions  and  facts  of 
life  as  they  really  are.  What  can  be  done,  and  is 
worth  doing,  do  with  dispatch ;  what  can  not  be  done, 
or  would  be  worthless  when  done,  leave  for  the  idlers 
and  dreamers  along  life's  highway. 

Life  often  presents  us  with  a  choice  of  evils  in- 
stead of  good ;  and  if  any  one  would  get  through 
life  honorably  and  peacefully  he  must  learn  to  bear 
as  well  as  forbear,  to  hold  the  temper  in  subjection 
to  the  judgment,  and  to  practice  self-denial  in  small 
is  well  as  great  things.  Human  life  is  a  watch-tower. 
It  is  the  clear  purpose  of  God  that  every  one — the 


LIFE.  27 

young  especially — should  take  their  stand  on  this 
tower,  to  look,  listen,  learn,  wherever  they  go  and 
wherever  they  tarry.  Life  is  short,  and  yet  for  you 
it  may  be  long  enough  to  lose  your  character,  your 
constitution,  or  your  estate;  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
by  diligence  you  can  accomplish  much  within  its 
limits. 

If  the  sculptor's  chisel  can  make  impressions 
on  marble  in  a  few  hours  which  distant  eyes  shall 
read  and  admire,  if  the  rrran  of  genius  can  create 
work  in  life  that  shall  speak  the  triumph  of  mind  a 
thousand  years  hence,  then  may  true  men  and  women, 
alive  to  the  duty  and  obligations  of  existence,  do  in- 
finitely more.  Working  on  human  hearts  and  desti- 
nies, it  is  their  prerogative  to  do  imperishable  work, 
to  build  within  life's  fleeting  hours  monuments  that 
shall  last  forever.  If  such  grand  possibilities  lie 
within  the  reach  of  our  personal  actions  in  the  world 
how  important  that  we  live  for  something  every  hour 
of  our  existence,  and  for  something  that  is  harmonious 
with  the  dignity  of  our  present  being  and  the  grand- 
eur of  our  future  destiny  ! 

A  steady  aim,  with  a  strong  arm,  willing  hands, 
and  a  resolute  will,  are  the  necessary  requisites  to 
the  conflict  which  begins  anew  each  day  and  writes 
upon  the  scroll  of  yesterday  the  actions  that  form 
one  mighty  column  wherefrom  true  worth  is  esti- 
mated. One  day's  work  left  undone  causes  a  break 
in  the  great  chain  that  years  of  toil  may  not  be  able 
to  repair.  Yesterday  was  ours,  but  it  is  gone;  to- 
day is  all  we  possess,  for  to-morrow  we  may  never 


28  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE.  . 

see;  therefore,  in  the  golden  hour  of  the  present 
the  seeds  are  planted  whereby  the  harvest  for  good 
or  evil  is  to  be  reaped. 

To  endure  with  cheerfulness,  hoping  for  little, 
asking  for  much,  is,  perhaps,  the  true  plan.  Decide 
('at  once  upon  a  noble  purpose,  then  take  it  up 
'bravely,  bear  it  off  joyfully,  lay  it  down  triumphantly. 
Be  industrious,  be  frugal,  be  honest,  deal  with  kind- 
ness with  all  who  come  in  your  way,  and  if  you  do 
not  prosper  as  rapidly  as  you  would  wish  depend 
upon  it  you  will  be  happy. 

The  web  of  life  is  drawn  into  the  loom  for  us, 
but  we  weave  it  ourselves.  We  throw  our  own  shut- 
tle and  work  our  own  treadle.  The  warp  is  given 
us,  but  the  woof  we  furnish — find  our  own  materials, 
and  color  and  figure  it  to  suit  ourselves.  Every  man 
is  the  architect  of  his. own  house,  his  own  temple  of 
fame.  If  he  builds  one  great,  glorious,  and  honora- 
ble, the  merit  and  the  bliss  are  his ;  if  he  rears  a 
polluted,  unsightly,  vice-haunted  den,  to  himself  the 
shame  and  misery  belongs. 

Life  is  often  but  a  bitter  struggle  from  first  to 
last  with  many  who  wear  smiling  faces  and  are  ever 
ready  with  a  cheerful  word,  when  there  is  scarcely  a 
shred  left  of  the  hopes  and  opportunities  which  for 
years  promised  happiness  and  content.  But  it  is 
human  still  to  strive  and  yearn  and  grope  for  some 
unknown  good  that  shall  send  all  unrest  and  troubles- 
to  the  winds  and  settle  down  over  one's  life  with  a 
halo  of  peace  and  satisfaction.  The  rainbow  of  hope 
is  always  visible  in  the  future.  Life  is  like  a  wind- 


HOME.  29 

ing  lane — on  either  side  bright  flowers  and  tempting 
fruits,  which  we  scarcely  pause  to  admire  or  taste, 
so  eager  are  we  to  pass  to  an  opening  in  the  dis- 
tance, which  we  imagine  will  be  more  beautiful;  but, 
alas !  we  find  we  have  only  hastened  by  these  tempt- 
ing scenes  to  arrive  at  a  desert  waste. 

We  creep  into  childhood,  bound  into  youth,  sober 
into  manhood,  and  totter  into  old  age.  But  through 
all  let  us  so  live  that  when  in  the  evening  of  life  the 
golden  clouds  rest  sweetly  and  invitingly  upon  the 
golden  mountains,  and  the  light  of  heaven  streams 
down  through  the  gathering  mists  of  death,  we  may 
have  a  peaceful  and  joyous  entrance  into  that  world 
of  blessedness,  where  the  great  riddle  of  life,  whose 
meanin';  we  can  only  guess  at  here  below,  will  be 
unfolded  to  us  in  the  quick  consciousness  of  a  soul 
redeemed  and  purified. 


"  Home  is  the  resort 

Of  love,  of  joy,  of  peace  and  plenty,  where, 
Supporting  and  supported,  polished  friends 
And  dear  relations  mingle  into  bliss." 

>ME!  That  word  touches  every  fiber  of  the 
soul,  and  strikes  every  chord  of  the  human 
heart  with  its  angelic  fingers.  Nothing  but 
death  can  break  its  spell.  What  tender  as- 
sociations are  linked  with  home!  What  pleasing 


30  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

images  and  deep  emotions  it  awakens  !  It  calls  up 
the  fondest  memories  of  life,  and  opens  in  our  nature 
the  purest,  deepest,  richest  gush  of  consecrated 
thought  and  feeling. 

To  the  little  child,  home  is  his  world — he  knows 
no  other.  The  father's  love,  the  mother's  smile,  the 
sister's  embrace,  the  brother's  welcome,  throw  about 
his  home  a  heavenly  halo,  and  make  it  as  attractive 
to  him  as  the  home  of  angels.  Home  is  the  spot 
where  the  child  pours  out  all  his  complaint,  and  it  is 
the  grave  of  all  his  sorrows.  Childhood  has  its  sor- 
rows and  its  grievances  ;  but  home  is  the  place  where 
these  are  soothed  and  banished  by  the  sweet  lullaby 
of  a  fond  mother's  voice. 

Ask  the  man  of  mature  years,  whose  brow  is  fur- 
rowed by  care,  whose  mind  is  engrossed  in  business, — 
ask  him  what  is  home.  He  will  tell  you:  "It  is  a 
place  of  rest,  a  haven  of  content,  where  loved  ones 
relieve  him  of  the  burden  of  every-day  life,  too  heavy 
to  be  continuously  borne,  from  whence,  refreshed  and 
invigorated,  he  goes  forth  to  do  battle  again." 

Ask  the  lone  wanderer  as  he  plods  his  weary 
way,  bent  with  the  weight  of  years  and  white  with 
the  frosts  of  age, — ask  him  what  is  home.  He  will 
tell  you  :  "  It  is  a  green  spot  in  memory,  an  oasis  in 
the  desert,  a  center  about  which  the  fondest  recollec- 
tion of  his  grief-oppressed  heart  clings  with  all  the 
tenacity  of  youth's  first  love.  It  was  once  a  glorious, 
a  happy  reality;  but  now  it  rests  only  as  an  image 
of  the  mind." 

Wherever  the  heart  wanders  it  carries  the  thought 


HOME.  31 

of  home  with  it.  Wherever  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon 
the  heart  feels  its  loss  and  loneliness,  it  hangs  its 
harp  upon  the  willows,  and  weeps.  It  prefers  home 
to  its  chief  joy.  It  will  never  forget  it ;  for  there 
swelled  its  first  throb,  there  were  developed  its  first 
affections.  There  a  mother's  eye  looked  into  it,  there 
a  father's  prayer  blessed  it,  there  the  love  of  parents 
and  brothers  and  sisters  gave  it  precious  entertain- 
ment. There  bubbled  up,  from  unseen  fountains, 
life's  first  effervescing  hopes.  There  life  took  form 
and  consistence.  From  that  center  went  out  all  its 
young  ambition.  Towards  that  focus  return  its  con- 
centrating memories.  There  it  took  form  and  fitted 
itself  to  loving  natures  ;  and  it  will  carry  that  impress 
wherever  it  may  go,  unless  it  becomes  polluted  by 
sin  or  makes  to  itself  another  home  sanctified  by  a 
new  and  more  precious  affection. 

There  is  one  vision  that  never  fades  from  the 
soul,  and  that  is  the  vision  of  mother  and  of  home. 
No  man  in  all  his  weary  wanderings  ever  goes  out 
beyond  the  overshadowing  arch  of  home.  Let  him 
stand  on  the  surf-beaten  coast  of  the  Atlantic,  or 
roam  over  western  wilds,  and  every  dash  of  the  wave 
or  murmur  of  the  breeze  will  whisper  home,  sweet 
home  !  Let  him  down  amid  the  glaciers  of  the  north, 
and  even  there  thoughts  of  home,  too  warm  to  be 
chilled  by  the  eternal  frosts,  will  float  in  upon  him. 
Let  him  rove  through  the  green,  waving  groves  and 
over  the  sunny  slopes  of  the  south,  and  in  the  smile 
of  the  soft  skies,  and  in  the  kiss  of  the  balmy  breeze, 
home  will  live  again.  Let  prosperity  reward  his  every 


32  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

exertion,  and  wealth  and  affluence  bring  round  him 
all  the  luxury  of  the  earth,  yet  in  his  marble  palace 
will  rise  unforbidden  the  vision  of  his  childhood's 
home.  Let  misfortune  overtake  him  ;  let  poverty  be 
his  portion,  and  hunger  press  him  ;  still  in  troubled 
dreams  will  his  thoughts  revert  to  his  olden  home. 

If  you  wanted  to  gather  up  all  tender  memories, 
all  lights  and  shadows  of  the  heart,  all  banquetings 
and  reunions,  all  filial,  fraternal,  paternal,  conjugal 
affections,  and  had  only  just  four  letters  to  spell  out 
all  height  and  depth,  and  length  and  breadth,  and 
magnitude  and  eternity  of  meaning,  you  would  write 
it  all  out  with  the  four  letters  that  spell  Home. 

What  beautiful  and  tender  associations  cluster 
thick  around  that  word  !  Compared  with  it,  wealth, 
mansion,  palace,  are  cold,  heartless  terms.  But 
home, — that  word  quickens  every  pulse,  warms  the 
heart,  stirs  the  soul  to  its  depths,  makes  age  feel 
young  again,  rouses  apathy  into  energy,  sustains  the 
sailor  in  his  midnight  watch,  inspires  the  soldier  with 
courage  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  imparts  patient 
endurance  to  the  worn-out  sons  of  toil. 

The  thought  of  it  has  proved  a  sevenfold  shield 
to  virtue  ;  the  very  name  of  it  has  a  spell  to  call  back 
the  wanderer  from  the  path  of  vice  ;  and,  far  away 
where  myrtles  bloom  and  palm-trees  wave,  and  the 
ocean  sleeps  upon  coral  strands,  to  the  exile's  fond 
fancy  it  clothes  the  naked  rock,  or  stormy  shore, 
or  barren  moor,  or  wild  height  and  mountain,  with 
charms  he  weeps  to  think  of,  and  longs  once  more 
to  see. 


HOME.  33 

Every  home  should  be  as  a  city  set  on  a  hill,  that 
can  not  be  hid.  Into  it  should  flock  friends  and 
friendship,  bringing  the  light  of  the  world,  the  stim- 
ulus and  the  modifying  power  of  contact  with  various 
natures,  the  fresh  flowers  of  feeling  gathered  from 
wide  fields.  Out  of  it  should  flow  benign  charities, 
pleasant  amenities,  and  all  those  influences  which 
are  the  natural  offspring  of  a  high  and  harmonious 
home-life. 

The  home  is  the  fountain  of  civilization.  Our 
laws  are  made  in  the  home.  The  things  said  there 
give  bias  to  character  far  more  than  do  sermons  and 
lectures,  newspapers  and  books.  No  other  audience 
are  so  susceptible  and  receptive  as  those  gathered 
about  the  table  and  fireside ;  no  other  teachers  have 
the  acknowledged  and  divine  right  to  instruct  that  is 
granted  without  challenge  to  parents.  The  founda- 
tion of  our  national  life  is  under  their  hand.  They 
can  make  it  send  forth  waters  bitter  or  sweet,  for  the 
death  or  the  healing  of  the  people. 

The  influences  of  home  perpetuate  themselves. 
The  gentle  graces  of  the  mother  live  in  the  daughter 
long  after  her  head  is  pillowed  in  the  dust  of  death ; 
and  the  fatherly  kindness  finds  its  echoes  in  the 
nobility  and  character  of  sons  who  come  to  wear  his 
mantle  and  fill  his  place.  While,  on  the  other  hand, 
from  an  unhappy,  misgoverned,  and  ill-ordered  home, 
go  forth  persons  who  shall  make  other  homes  miser- 
able, and  perpetuate  the  sorrows  and  sadness,  the 
contentions  and  strifes,  which  have  made  their  own 

early  lives  miserable.    In  every  proper  sense  in  which 
3 


34  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

home  can  be  considered,  it  is  a  powerful  stimulant  to 
noble  actions  and  a  high  and  pure  morality.  So  val- 
uable is  this  love  of  home  that  every  man  should 
cherish  it  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  .As  he  values  his 
own  moral  worth,  as  he  prizes  his  country,  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  the  world  ;  yea,  more,  as  he  values 
the  immortal  interests  of  man,  he  should  cherish  and 
cultivate  a  strong  and  abiding  love  of  home. 

Home  has  voices  of  experience  and  hearts  of  gen- 
uine holy  love,  to  instruct  you  in  the  way  of  life,  and 
to  save  you  from  a  sense  of  loneliness  as  you  grad- 
ually discover  the  selfishness  of  mankind.  Home  has 
its  trials,  in  which  are  imaged  forth  the  stern  struggles 
of  your  after  years,  that  your  character  may  gain 
strength  and  manifestation,  for  which  purpose  they 
are  necessary ;  they  open  the  portals  of  his  heart, 
that  the  jewels  otherwise  concealed  in  its  hidden 
depths  may  shine  forth  and  shed  their  luster  on  the 
world.  Home  has  its  duties,  to  teach  you  how  to 
act  on  your  own  responsibilities.  Home  gradually 
and  greatly  increases  its  burdens,  so  that  you  may 
acquire  strength  to  endure  without  being  overtasked. 
Home  is  a  little  world,  in  which  the  duties  of  the 
great  world  are  daily  rehearsed. 

He  who  has  no  home  has  not  the  sweetest  pleas- 
ures of  life.  He  feels  not  the  thousand  endearments 
that  cluster  around  that  hallowed  spot,  to  fill  the 
void  of  his  aching  heart,  and  while  away  his  leisure 
moments  in  the  sweetest  of  life's  enjoyments.  Is 
misfortune  your  lot,  you  will  find  a  friendjy  welcome 
from  hearts  beating  true  to  your  own.  The  chosen 


HOME.  35 

partner  of  your  toil  has  a  smile  of  approbation  when 
others  have  deserted  you,  a  hand  of  hope  when  all 
others  refuse,  and  a  heart  to  feel  your  sorrows  as 
her  own.  No  matter  how  humble  that  home  may  be, 
how  destitute  its  stores,  or  how  poorly  its  inmates 
may  be  clad,  if  true  hearts  dwell  there,  it  is  still  a 
home. 

Of  all  places  on  earth,  home  is  the  most  delicate 
and  sensitive.  Its  springs  of  action  are  subtle  and 
secret.  Its  chords  move  with  a  breath.  Its  fires  are 
kindled  with  a  spark.  Its  flowers  are  bruised  with 
the  least  rudeness.  The  influences  of  our  homes 
strike  so  directly  on  our  hearts  that  they  make  sharp 
impressions.  In  our  intercourse  with  the  world  we 
are  barricaded,  and  the  arrows  let  fly  at  our  hearts 
are  warded  off;  but  not  so  with  us  at  home.  Here 
our  hearts  wear  no  covering,  no  armor.  Every  arrow 
strikes  them  ;  every  cold  wind  blows  full  upon  them ; 
every  storm  beats  against  them.  What,  in  the  world, 
we  would. pass  by  in  sport,  in  our  homes  would  wound 
us  to  the  quick.  Very  little  can  we  bear  at  home,  for 
it  is  a  sensitive  place. 

If  we  would  have  a  true  home,  we  must  guard 
well  our  thoughts  ^nd  actions.  A  single  bitter  word 
may  disquiet  the  home  for  a  whole  day ;  but,  like 
unexpected  flowers  which  spring  up  along  our  path 
full  of  freshness,  fragrance,  and  beauty,  so  do  kind 
words  and  gentle  acts  and  sweet  disposition  make 
glad  the  home  where  peace  and  blessing  dwell.  No 
matter  how  humble  the  abode,  if  it  be  thus  garnished 
with  grace  and  sweetened  by  kindness  and  smiles, 


36  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

the  heart  will  turn  lovingly  towards  it  from  all  the 
tumults  of  the  world,  and  home,  "  be  it  ever  so 
humble,"  will  be  the  dearest  spot  under  the  sun. 

There  is  no  happiness  in  life,  there  is  no  misery, 
like  that  growing  out  of  the  disposition  which  con- 
secrates or  desecrates  a  home.  "  He  is  happiest, 
be  he  king  or  peasant,  who  finds  peace  at  home." 
Home  should  be  made  so  truly  home  that  the  weary, 
tempted  heart  could  turn  towards  it  anywhere  on 
the  dusty  highways  of  life,  and  receive  light  and 
strength.  It  should  be  the  sacred  refuge  of  our  lives, 
whether  rich  or  poor. 

The*  affections  and  loves  of  home  are  graceful 
things,  especially  among  the  poor.  The  ties  that 
bind  the  wealthy  and  proud  to  home  may  be  forged 
on  earth,  but  those  which  link  the  poor  man  to  his 
humble  hearth  are  of  the  true  metal,  and  bear  the 
stamp  of  heaven.  These  affections  and  loves  consti- 
tute the  poetry  of  human  life,  and  so  far  as  our 
present  existence  is  concerned,  with  all  the  domestic 
relations,  are  worth  more  than  all  other  social  ties. 
They  give  the  first  throb  to  the  heart,  and  unseal  the 
deep  fountains  of  its  love.  Homes  are  not  made  up 
of  material  things.  It  is  not  a  fine  house,  rich  fur- 
niture, a  luxurious  table,  a  flowery  garden,  and  a 
superb  carriage,  that  make  a  home.  Vastly  superior 
to  this  is  a  true  home.  Our  ideal  homes  should  be 
heart-homes,  in  which  virtue  lives  and  love-flowers 
bloom  and  peace-offerings  are  daily  brought  to  its 
altars.  It  is  made  radiant  within  with  every  social 
virtue,  and  beautiful  without  by  those  simple  adorn- 


HOME.  37 

ments  with  which  nature  is  every-where  so  prolific. 
The  children  born  in  such  homes  will  leave  them  with 
regret,  and  come  back  to  them  in  after  life  as  pilgrims 
to  a  holy  shrine.  The  towns  on  whose  hills  and  in 
whose  vales  such  homes  are  found  will  live  forever  in 
the  hearts  of  its  grateful  children. 

How  easy  it  is  to  invest  homes  with  true  elegance, 
which  resides  not  with  the  upholsterer  or  draper!  It 
exists  in  the  spirit  presiding  over  the  apartments  of 
the  dwell)1  ig.  Contentment  must  be  always  most 
graceful ;  it  sheds  serenity  over  the  scenes  of  its 
abode,  it  transforms  a  waste  into  a  garden.  The 
house  lighted  by  those  imitations  of  a  nobler  and 
brighter  life  may  be  wanting  much  which  the  discon- 
tented may  desire,  but  to  its  inhabitants  it  will  be  a 
palace  far  outvying  the  Oriental  in  beauty. 

There  is  music  in  the  word  Home.  To  the  old  it 
brings  a  bewitching  strain  from  the  harp  of  memory, 
to  the  middle-aged  it  brings  up  happy  thoughts, 
while  to  the  young  it  is  a  reminder  of  all  that  is  near 
and  dear  to  them.  Our  hearts  turn  with  unchange- 
able love  and  longing  to  the  dear  old  home  which 
sheltered  us  in  childhood.  Kind  friends  may  beckon 
us  to  newer  scenes,  and  loving  hearts  may  bind  us 
fast  to  other  pleasant  homes ;  but  we  love  to  return 
to  the  home  of  our  childhood.  It  may  be  old  and 
rickety  to  the  eyes  of  strangers ;  the  windows  may 
have  been  broken  and  patched  long  ago,  and  the 
floor  worn  through  ;  but  it  is  still  the  old  home  from 
out  of  which  we  looked  at  life  with  hearts  full  of 
hope,  building  castles  which  faded  long  ago.  Here 


38  GW-DEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

we  watched  life  come  ?nd  go ;  here  we  folded  still, 
cold  hands  over  hearts  £s  still,  that  once  beat  full 
of  love  for  us. 

Even  as  the  sunbeam  is  composed  of  millions  of 
minute  rays,  the  home-life  must  be  constituted  of 
little  tendernesses,  kind  looks,  swret  laughter,  gentle 
words,  loving  counsels.  It  must  not  be  like  the  torch 
blaze  of  natural  excitement,  which  is  easily  quenched, 
but  like  the  serene,  chastened  light,  which  burns  as 
safely  in  the  dry  east  wind  as  in  the  stillest  atmos- 
phere. Let  each  bear  the  other's  burden  the  while  ; 
let  each  cultivate  the  mutual  confidence  which  is  a 
gift  capable  of  increase  and  improvement,  and  soon 
it  will  be  found  that  kindness  will  spring  up  on  everf 
side,  displacing  unsuitability,  want  of  mutual  knowl 
edge,  even  as  we  have  seen  sweet  violets  and  prim 
roses  dispelling  the  gloom  of  the  gray  sea-rocks. 

The  sweetest  type  of  heaven  is  home.  Nay, 
heaven  itself  is  the  home  for  whose  acquisition  we 
are  to  strive  most  strongly.  Home  in  one  form  or 
another  is  the  great  object  of  life.  It  stands  at  the 
end  of  every  day's  labor,  and  beckons  us  to  its 
bosom  ;  and  life  would  be  cheerless  and  meaningless 
did  we  not  discern  across  the  river  that  divides  it 
from  the  life  beyond  glimpses  of  the  pleasant  man- 
sions prepared  for  us.  Yes,  heaven  is  the  home 
towards  which  those  who  have  lived  aright  direct 
their  steps  when  wearied  by  the  toils  of  life.  There 
the  members  of  the  homes  on  earth<  separated  here, 
will  meet  again,  to  part  no  more. 


HOME  CIRCLE. 


39   S 


iHE  home  circle  may  be,  ought  to  be,  the  most 
Sp  delightful  place  on  earth,  the  center  of  the 
purest  affections  and  most  desirable  associa- 
tions, as  well  as  of  the  most  attractive  and 
exalted  beauties  to  be  found  this  side  of  paradise. 
Nothing  can  excel  in  beauty  and  sublimity  the  qui- 
etude, peace,  harmony,  affection,  and  happiness  of  a 
well-ordered  family,  where  virtue  is  nurtured  and 
every  good  principle  fostered  and  sustained. 

The  home  circle  is  the  nursery  of  affection.  It 
is  the  Eden  of  young  attachments,  and  here  should 
be  planted  and  tended  all  the  germs  of  love,  every 
seed  that  shall  ever  sprout  in  the  heart;  and  how 
carefully  should  they  be  tended !  how  guarded  against 
the  frosts  of  jealousy,  anger,  envy,  pride,  vanity,  and 
ambition !  how  rooted  in  the  best  soil  of  the  heart, 
and  nourished  and  cultivated  by  the  soul's  best  hus- 
bandry ! 

Here  is  the  heart's  garden.  Its  sunshine  and 
flowers  are  here.  All  its  beautiful,  all  its  lovely 
things  are  here.  And  here  should  be  expended  care, 
toil,  effort,  patience,  and  whatever  may  be  necessary 
to  make  them  still  more  lovely.  It  is  around  the 
memories  of  the  home  circle  that  cluster  the  happiest 
and  sometimes  the  saddest  of  the  recollections  of 
youth.  There  is  the  thought  of  brother  and  sister, 
perhaps  now  gone  forever ;  of  childish  sorrow  and 
grief;  of  the  mother's  prayer  and  the  father's  bless- 


40  GOLDES  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ing.  Do  you  wonder  that  these  memories,  both  bit- 
ter and  sweet,  linger  in  the  chambers  of  the  mind 
long  after  those  of  the  busy  years  of  maturity  have 
faded  away  before  the  approach  of  age?  With  what 
assiduity  ought  all  who  have  arrived  at  the  years  of 
maturity  strive  to  make  their  homes  pleasant — ana 
especially  is  this  true  of  parents — so  that  its  mem- 
bers when  they  go  from  thence  will  carry  with  them 
thoughts  that  through  all  the  weary  years  that  are 
before  them  will  afford  a  pleasant  retreat  for  them 
when  well-nigh  wearied  with  the  care  which  comes 
with  increasing  years. 

We  can  not  honor  with  too  deep  a  reverence  the 
home  affections;  we  can  not  cultivate  them  with  too 
great  a  care ;  we  can  not  cherish  them  with  too  much 
solicitude.  There  is  the  center  of  our  present  hap- 
piness, the  springs  of  our  deepest  and  strongest  tides 
of  joy.  When  the  home  affections  are  duly  cultivated 
all  others  follow  or  grow  out  of  them  as  a  natural 
consequence.  If  any  would  have  fervent  and  noble 
affections,  such  as  give  power  and  glory  to  the  hu- 
man heart,  such  as  sanctify  the  soul  and  make  it 
supremely  beautiful,  such  as  an  angel  might  covet 
without  shame,  let  him  cultivate  all  the  feelings  that 
originate,  as  from  a  radiant  point,  in  the  home  circle. 

The  true  flower  of  home  love  requires  for  its 
development  the  aid  of  every  member  of  the  home 
circle.  The  tears  of  sympathy  as  well  as  the  sun- 
shine of  domestic  affection  bring  it  to  its  glorious 
maturity.  Ofttimes  there  are  families  the  members 
of  which  are,  without  doubt,  dear  to  each  other.  If 


HOME  CIRCLE.  41 

sickness  or  sudden  trouble  fall  on  one  all  are  afflicted, 
and  make  haste  to  help  and  sympathize  and  comfort. 
But  in  their  daily  life  and  ordinary  intercourse  there 
is  not  only  no  expression  of  affection,  none  of  the 
pleasant  and  fond  behavior  that  has,  perhaps,  little 
dignity,  but  which  more  than  makes  up  for  that  in 
its  sweetness,  but  there  is  an  absolute  hardness  of 
language  and  actions  which  is  shocking  to  every 
sensitive  and  tender  feeling.  Between  father  and 
mother,  brother  and  sister,  ofttimes  pass  rough  and 
hasty  words,  and  sometimes  angry  words,  even  more 
frequently  than  words  of  endearment.  To  judge 
from  their  actions  they  do  not  appear  to  love  each 
other,  nor  does  it  seem  to  have  occurred  to  them 
that  it  is  their  duty,  as  it  should  be  their  best  pleas- 
ure, to  do  and  say  all  that  they  possibly  can  for  each 
other's  good  and  happinesss. 

It  is  in  the  home  circle  where  we  form  many,  if 
not  the  most,  of  our  habits,  both  of  action  and 
speech.  These  habits  we  carry  into  the  world. 
They  cling  to  us.  The  vulgarities  which  we  use  at 
home  we  shall  use  abroad — the  coarse  sayings,  the 
low  jest,  the  vulgar  speeches,  the  grammatical  blun- 
ders. All  the  lingual  imperfections  which  go  to  form 
a  part  of  our  home  conversation  will  enter  into  our 
conversation  at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  The 
home  circle  should  be  held  too  sacred  to  be  polluted 
with  the  vulgarities  of  languages,  which  could  have 
originated  nowhere  but  in  low  and  groveling  minds. 
It  should  be  dedicated  to  love  and  truth,  to  all  that 
is  tender  in  feeling  and  noble  and  pure  in  thought, 


42  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

to  holiest  communion  of  soul  with  soul.  In  order 
that  such  a  communion  may  be  enjoyed  it  is  requi- 
site that  language  should  there  perform  its  most 
sacred  office,  even  the  office  of  transmitting  unim- 
pared  the  most  tender  and  sacred  affections  that  glow 
in  the  human  heart. 

If  the  dialects  of  angels  could  be  used  on  earth  its 
fittest  place  would  be  the  home  circle.  The  language 
of  home  should  be  such  as  would  not  stain  the  pur- 
est lips  nor  fall  harshly  on  the  most  refined  ear.  It 
should  abound  in  words  of  wisdom  which  are  at  once 
the  glory  of  youth  and  the  honor  of  age. 

The  home  circle,  what  tender  associations  does  it 
recall !  How  deeply  interwoven  are  its  golden  fila- 
ments with  all  the  fiber  of  our  affectionate  natures, 
forming  the  glittering  of  the  heart's  golden  life! 
Here  are  father,  mother,  child,  brother,  sister,  com- 
panions, all  the  heart  loves,  all  that  makes  earth 
lovely,  all  that  enriches  the  mind  with  faith  and  the 
soul  with  hope.  What  language  is  most  fitting  for 
home  use,  to  bear  the  messages  of  home  feeling,  to 
be  freighted  with  the  diamond  treasure  of  home 
hearts?  Should  it  be  any  other  than  the  most  re- 
fined and  pure?  any  other  than  that  breathing  the 
sacred  charity  of  affection  ? 

Home  is  the  great  seeding-place  of  every  affec- 
tion that  ever  grows  in  the  heart.  Hence  all  should 
tend  well  to  it,  watch,  prune,  and  cultivate  with  all 
prudence  and  wisdom,  with  all  fervency  of  spirit. 
Let  the  music  of  the  heart  swell  its  notes  here  in 
one  perpetual  anthem  of  good  will.  Let  praise  and 


HOME  CIRCLE.  43 

prayer  and  fervent  good  wishes  and  words  and  works 
hallow  its  sacred  shrine.  Let  offices  of  love  go 
round  like  smiles  at  a  feast  of  joy.  Let  the  whole 
soul  devote  its  energies  to  making  happy  its  home, 
and  its  rewards  will  be  great. 

If  there  be  any  tie  formed  in  life  which  ought  to 
be  securely  guarded  from  any  thing  which  can  put  it 
in  peril  it  is  that  which  unites  the  members  of  a 
family.  If  there  be  a  spot  upon  earth  from  which 
discord  and  strife  should  be  banished  it  is  the  fireside. 
There  center  the  fondest  hopes  and  the  most  tender 
affections. 

The  great  lever  by  which  the  heart  is  moved  is 
love ;  it  is  the  basis  of  all  true  excellence,  of  all  ex- 
cellent thought.  How  pleasing  the  spectacle  of  that 
home  circle  which  is  governed  by  the  spirit  of  love! 
Each  one  strives  to  avoid  giving  offense,  and  is  stu- 
diously considerate  of  the  others'  happiness.  Sweet, 
loving  dispositions  are  cultivated  by  all,  and  each 
tries  to  surpass  the  other  in  his  efforts  for  the  com- 
mon harmony.  Each  heart  glows  with  love,  and  the 
benediction  of  heavenly  peace  seems  to  abide  upon 
that  dwelling  with  such  power  that  no  storm  of  pas- 
sion is  able  to  rise. 

There  is  no  pleasanter  sight  than  that  of  a  family 
of  young  folks  who  are  quick  to  perform  little  acts 
of  attention  towards  their  elders.  The  placing  of  the 
big  arm-chair  for  the  mother,  or  kindly  errands  done 
for  father,  and  scores  of  little  deeds,  show  the  tender 
sympathy  of  gentle,  loving  hearts.  Parents  should 
show  their  appreciation  of  these  kindly  acts.  If  they 


44  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

do  not  indicate  that  they  are  appreciated  the  habit  is 
soon  dropped. 

Little  children  are  imitative  creatures,  and  quickly 
catch  the  spirit  surrounding  them.  So,  if  the  father 
shows  kindly  attention  to  the  mother,  bright  eyes  will 
see  the  act,  and  quick  minds  will  make  a  note  of  it 
By  example  much  more  than  by  precept  can  chil- 
dren be  taught  to  speak  kindly  to  each  other,  to 
acknowledge  favors,  to  be  gentle  and  unselfish,  to 
be  thoughtful  and  considerate  of  the  comfort  of  the 
family. 

The  boys,  with  inward  pride  of  the  father's  court- 
eous demeanor,  will  be  chivalrous  and  helpful  to 
their  sisters ;  and  the  girls,  imitating  the  mother,  will 
be  jDatient  and  gentle,  even  when  brothers  are  noisy 
and  heedless. 

In  the  homes  where  true  courtesy  prevails  it  seems 
to  meet  you  on  the  threshold.  You  feel  the  kindly 
welcome  on  entering.  No  angry  voices  are  heard 
up  stairs,  no  sullen  children  are  sent  from  the  room, 
no  peremptory  orders  are  given  to  cover  the  delin- 
quencies of  housekeeping  or  servants.  A  delightful 
atmosphere  pervades  the  house,  unmistakable,  yet 
indescribable.  Such  a  house,  filled  by  the  spirit  of 
love,  is  a  home  indeed,  to  all  who  enter  within  its 
consecrated  walls. 

Members  of  the  home  circle  lose  nothing  by  mu- 
tual politeness ;  on  the  contrary,  by  maintaining  not 
only  its  forms,  but  by  inward  cultivation  ol  its  spirit, 
they  become  contributors  to  that  domestic  feeling 
which  is  in  itself  a  foretaste  of  heaven.  The  good- 


HOME  CIRCLE.  45 

night  and  the  good-morning  salutation,  though  they 
may  seem  but  trifles,  have  a  sweet  and  softening 
influence  on  all  its  members.  The  -little  kiss  and 
artless  good-night  of  the  smaller  ones,  as  they  retire 
to  rest,  have  in  them  a  heavenly  melody. 

Children  are  the  pride  and  ornament  of  the  fam- 
ily circle.  They  create  sport  and  amusement  and 
dissipate  all  sense  of  loneliness  from  the  household. 
When  intelligent  and  well  trained  they  afford  a 
spectacle  which  even  indifferent  persons  contemplate 
with  satisfaction  and  delight.  Still  these  pleasura- 
ble emotions  are  not  unalloyed  with  solicitude.  It 
is  an  agreeable  but  changeable  picture  of  human 
happiness.  Time  in  advancing  carries  them  for- 
ward, and  erelong  they  will  feel  like  exclaiming, 
with  the  older  and  more  sad  and  serious  ones 
around  them,  that  their  youth  exists  only  in  re- 
membrance. 

There  is  probably  not  an  unpolluted  man  or 
woman  living  who  does  not  feel  that  the  sweetest 
consolations  and  best  rewards  of  life  are  found  in 
the  loves  and  delights  of  home.  There  are  very 
few  who  do  not  feel  themselves  indebted  to  the  influ- 
ence that  clustered  around  their  cradles  for  what- 
ever good  there  may  be  in  their  character  and  con- 
dition. The  influence  preceding  from  the  home  circle 
is  either  a  blessing  or  a  curse,  either  for  good  or  for 
evil.  It  can  not  be  neutral.  In  either  case  it  is 
mighty,  commencing  with  our  birth,  going  with  us 
through  life,  clinging  to  us  in  death,  and  reaching 
into  the  eternal  world.  It  is  that  unitive  power  which 


46  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

arises  out  of  the  manifold  relations  and  associations 
of  domestic  life.  The  specific  influence  of  husband 
and  wife,  of  parent  and  child,  of  brother  and  sister, 
of  teacher  and  pupil,  united  and  harmoniously  blended, 
constitute  the  home  influence.  From  this  we  may 
infer  the  character  of  home  influence.  It  is  great, 
silent,  irresistible,  and  permanent.  Like  the  calm, 
deep  stream,  it  moves  on  in  silent  but  overwhelming 
power.  It  strikes  root  deep  into  the  human  heart, 
and  spreads  its  branches  wide  over  our  whole  being. 
Like  the  lily  that  braves  the  tempest,  and  the  "Alpine 
flower  that  leans  its  cheek  on  the  bosom  of  eternal 
snow,"  it  is  exerted  amid  the  wildest  scenes  of  life, 
and  breathes  a  softening  spell  in  our  bosom,  even 
when  a  heartless  world  is  freezing  up  the  fountains 
of  our  sympathy  and  love.  It  is  governing,  restrain- 
ing, attracting,  and  traditional.  It  holds  the  empire 
of  the  heart  and  rules  the  life.  It  restrains  the  way- 
ward passions  of  the  child  and  checks  the  man  in  his 
mad  career  of  ruin. 

But  all  pictures  of  earthly  happiness  are  transient 
in  duration.  Where  can  you  find  an  unbroken  home 
circle  ?  The  time  must  soon  come,  if  it  has  not  al- 
ready, when  you  must  part  from  those  who  have' sur- 
rounded the  same  parental  board,  who  mingled  with 
you  in  the  gay-hearted  joys  of  childhood  and  the 
opening  promise  of  youth.  New  cares  will  attend 
you  in  new  situations,  and  the  relations  you  form 
and  the  business  you  pursue  may  call  you  far  from 
the  "play-place"  of  your  youth.  In  the  unseen 
future  your  brothers  and  sisters  may  be  sundered 


FA  THER  A XD  MOTHER.  4  7 

from  you,  your  lives  may  be  spent  apart,  and  in 
death  you  may  be  divided;  and  of  you  it  may  be 
said : 

"They  grew  in  beauty  side  by  side. 
They  filled  one  home  with  glee; 
Their  graves  are  severed  far  and  wide, 
By  mount  and  stream  and  sea." 


|OW  can  children  repay  parents  for  their  watch- 
ings,  anxieties,  labors,  toils,  trials,  patience,  and 
love  ?  Think  of  the  utter  helplessness  of  the 
long  years  of  infancy,  of  the  entire  dependence 
of  succeeding  childhood,  of  the  necessities  and  wants 
of  youth,  of  the  burning  solicitude  of  parents,  and 
their  deep  and  inexhaustible  love  ;  think  of  the  long 
years  of  unwearied  toil,  of  their  deep  and  soul-felt 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  their  offspring,  of  the 
majesty  and  matchless  power  of  their  unselfish  affec- 
tions— and  then  say  whether  it  is  possible  for  youth 
to  repay  too  much  love  and  gratitude  for  all  this 
bestowal  of  parental  anxiety. 

Oh,  what  thankfulness  should  fill  every  child's 
heart !  What  a  glorious  return  of  love  !  Every  day 
should  they  give  them  some  token  of  love.  Every 
hour  should  their  own  hearts  glow  with  gratitude  and 
holy  respect  for  those  who  have  given  them  being, 
and  loved  them  so  fervently  and  long.  Nothing  will 
so  warm  and  quicken  all  the  affections  of  the  parent's 


48  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

heart  as  such  respect.  Who  feels  like  trusting  an 
ungrateful  child  ?  Who  can  believe  that  his  affection 
for  any  object  can  be  firm  and  pure  ?  The  child  who 
has  loved  long  and  well  his  parents  has  thoroughly 
electrified  his  affections,  has  surcharged  them  with 
the  sweet  spirit  of  an  affectionate  tenderness,  which 
will  pervade  his  entire  heart,  and  will  make  him  better 
and  purer  forever.  The  affections  of  such  a  child  are 
to  be  trusted.  As  well  may  one  doubt  an  angel  as 
such  a  one. 

There  is  always  a  liability,  where  sons  and  daugh- 
ters have  gone  from  the  home  of  their  childhood,  and 
have  formed  homes  of  their  own,  gradually  to  lose 
the  old  attachments  and  cease  to  pay  those  attentions 
to  parents  which  were  so  easy  and  natural  in  the 
olden  time.  New  associations,  new  thoughts,  new 
cares,  all  come  in,  filling  the  mind  and  heart,  and,  if 
special  pains  be  not  taken,  they  thrust  out  the  old 
love.  This  ought  never  to  be.  Children  should  re^ 
member  that  the  change  is  in  them,  and  not  with 
those  they  left  behind.  They  have  every  thing  that 
is  new,  much  that  is  attractive  in  the  present  and 
bright  in  the  future ;  but  the  parents'  hearts  cling  to 
the  past,  and  have  most  in  memory.  When  children 
go  away,  they  know  not,  and  never  will  know  until 
they  experience  it  themselves,  what  it  cost  to  give 
them  up,  nor  what  a  vacancy  they  left  behind. 

The  parents  have  not,  if  the  children  have,  any 
new  loves  to  take  the  place  of  the  old.  Do  not, 
then,  heartlessly  deprive  them  of  what  you  still  can 
give  of  attention  and  love.  If  you  live  in  the  same 


FATHER  AND  MOTHER.  49 

place,  let  your  step  be — if  possible,  daily—  a  familiar 
one  in  the  old  home.  Even  when  many  miles  away, 
make  it  your  business  to  go  to  your  parents.  In 
this  matter  do  not  regard  time  or  expense.  They 
are  well  spent ;  and  some  day  when  the  word  reaches 
you,  flashed  over  the  wires,  that  your  father  or  mother 
is  gone,  you  will  not  regret  then  the  many  hours  of 
travel  spent  in  going  to  them  while  they  were  yet 
alive. 

Keep  up  your  intercourse  with  your  parents.  Do 
not  deem  it  sufficient  to  write  only  when  something 
important  is  to  be  told.  Do  not  believe  that  to  them 
"  no  news  is  good  news."  If  it  be  but  a  few  lines, 
write  them.  Write,  if  it  be  only  to  say, f"I  am 
well ;"  if  it  be  only  to  send  the  salutation  which  says 
they  are  "  dear,"  or  the  farewell  which  tells  them  that 
you  are  "affectionate"  still.  These  little  messages 
will  be  like  caskets  of  jewels,  and  the  tear  that  falls 
fondly  over  them  will  be  treasures  for  you.  Let 
every  child,  having  any  pretense  to  heart,  or  manli- 
ness, or  piety,  and  who  is  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a 
father  or  mother  living,  consider  it  a  sacred  duty  to 
consult,  at  any  reasonable  personal  sacrifice,  the 
known  wishes  of  such  a  parent  until  that  parent  is 
no  more ;  and,  our  word  for  it,  the  recollections  of 
the  same  through  the  after  pilgrimage  of  life  will 
sweeten  every  sorrow,  will  brighten  every  gladness, 
will  sparkle  every  tear-drop  with  a  joy  ineffable. 

There  is  no  period  of  life  when  our  parents  do 
not  claim  our  attention,  love,  and  warmest  affections. 
From  youth  to  manhood,  from  middle  age  to  riper 


50  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

years,  if  our  honored  parents  survive,  it  shoulcf  be 
our  constant  study  how  we  can  best  promote  their 
welfare  and  happiness,  and  smooth  the  pillow  of  their 
declining  years. 

Nothing  better  recommends  an  individual  than  his 
attentions  to  his  parents.  There  are  some  children 
whose  highest  ambition  seems  to  be  the  promotion 
of  their  parents'  interest.  They  watch  over  them 
with  unwearied  care,  supply  all  their  wants,  and  by 
their  devotion  and  kindness  remove  all  care  and  sor- 
row from  their  hearts.  On  the  contrary,  there  are 
others  who  seem  never  to  bestow  a  thought  upon 
their  parents,  and  to  care  but  little  whether  they  are 
comfortably  situated  or  not.  By  their  conduct  they 
increase  their  cares,  embitter  their  lives,  and  bring 
their  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave.  Selfish- 
ness has  steeled  their  hearts  to  the  whispers  of  affec- 
tion, and  avarice  denies  to  their  parents  those  favors 
which  would  materially  assist  them  in  the  down-hill 
of  life. 

Others,  too,  by  a  course  of  profligacy  and  vice, 
have  drained  to  the  very  dregs  their  parents'  cup  of 
happiness,  and  made  them  anxious  for  death  to  re- 
lease them  from  their  sufferings.  How  bitter  must 
be  the  doom  of  those  children  who  have  thus  embit- 
tered the  lives  of  their  best  earthly  friends  ! 

There  can  be  no  happier  reflection  than  that  de- 
rived from  the  thought  of  having  contributed  to  the 
.comfort  and  happiness  of  our  parents.  When  called 
away  from  our  presence,  which  sooner  or  later  must 
happen,  the  thought  will  be  sweet  that  our  efforts 


FATHER  AND  MOTHER.  51 

and  our  care  smoothed  their  declining  years,  so  that 
they  departed  in  comfort  and  peace.  If  we  were  oth- 
erwise, and  we  denied  them  what  their  circumstances 
and  necessities  required,  and  our  hearts  did  not  be- 
come like  the  nether  millstone,  our  remorse  mur.t 
prove  a  thorn  in  our  flesh,  piercing  us  sharply,  and 
filling  our  days  with  regret. 

There  is  an  enduring  tenderness  in  the  love  of  a 
mother  to  her  son  that  transcends  all  other  affections 
of  the  heart.  It  is  neither  to  be  chilled  by  selfish- 
ness, weakened  by  worthlessness,  nor  stifled  by  in- 
gratitude. She  will  sacrifice  every  comfort  to  his 
convenience  ;  she  will  surrender  every  pleasure  to  his 
enjoyment ;  she  will  glory  in  his  fame,  and  exult  in 
his  prosperity.  If  misfortune  overtake  him,  he  will 
be  the  dearer  to  her  from  misfortune ;  and  if  disgrace 
settles  upon  his  name,  she  will  still  love  and  cherish 
him  in  spite  of  his  disgrace.  If  all  the  world  besides 
cast  him  off,  she  will  be  all  the  world  to  him. 

A  father  may  turn  his  back  on  his  child,  brothers 
and  sisters  may  become  inveterate  enemies,  husbands 
may  desert  their  wives,  wives  their  husbands ;  but  a 
mother's  love  endures  through  all.  In  good  repute, 
in  bad  repute,  in  the  face  of  the  world's,  condemna 
tion,  a  mother  still  lives  on  and  still  hopes  that  her 
child  may  turn  from  his  evil  ways  and  repent ;  still 
she- remembers  his  infant  smile  that  ever  filled  her 
bosom  with  rapture,  the  merry  laugh,  the  joyful 
shout  of  his  childhood,  the  opening  promise  of  his 
youth ;  and  thinking  of  these,  she  never  can  be 
brought  to  think  him  all  unworthy. 


52  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Young  man,  speak  kindly  to  your  mother,  and 
ever  courteously  and  tenderly  of  her.  But  a  little 
while  and  you  shall  see  her  no  more  forever.  Her 
eye  is  dim,  her  form  bent,  and  her  shadow  falls  grave- 
ward.  Others  may  love  you  when  she  has  passed 
away — a  kind-hearted  sister,  perhaps,  or  she  whom 
of  all  the  world  you  chose  for  a  partner — she  may 
love  you  warmly,  passionately  ;  children  may  love  you 
fondly  ;  but  never  again,  never,  while  time  is  yours, 
shall  the  love  of  woman  be  to  you  as  that  of  your 
old,  trembling  mother  has  been.  Alas !  how  little  do 
we  appreciate  a  mother's  tenderness  while  living ! 
How  heedless  are  we  in  youth  of  all  her  anxious  ten- 
derness !  But  when  she  is  dead  and  gone,  when  the 
cares  and  coldness  of  the  world  come  withering  to 
our  hearts,  when  we  experience  how  hard  it  is  to  find 
true  sympathy,  how  few  love  us  for  ourselves,  how 
few  will  befriend  us  in  misfortune,  then  it  is  that  we 
think  of  the  mother  we  have  lost. 

The  loss  of  a  parent  is  always  felt.  Even  though 
age  and  infirmities  may  have  incapacitated  them  from 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  cares  of  the  family,  still 
they  are  rallying  points  around  which  affection  and 
obedience,  and  a  thousand  tender  endeavors  to  please, 
concentrate.  They  are  like  the  lonely  star  before  us : 
neither  its  heat  nor  light  are  any  thing  to  us  in  them- 
selves, yet  the  shepherd  would  feel  his  heart  sad  if 
he  missed  it  when  he  lifts  his  eye  to  the  brow  of  the 
mountains  over  which  it  rises  when  the  sun  descends. 

Over  the  grave  of  a  friend,  of  a  brother  or  a 
sister  we  would  plant  the  primrose,  emblematical  of 


FATHER  AND  MOTHER.  53 

youth ;  but  over  that  of  a  mother  we  would  let  the 
green  grass  shoot  up  unmolested  ;  for  there  is  some- 
thing in  the  simple  covering  which  nature  spreads 
upon  the  grave  which  well  becomes  the  abiding  place 
of  decaying  age.  Oh,  a  mother's  grave !  It  is  in- 
deed a  sacred  spot.  It  may  be  retired  from  the 
noise  of  business,  and  unnoticed  by  the.  stranger ; 
but  to  our  heart  how  dear  ! 

The  love  we  should  bear  to  a  parent  is  not  to  be 
measured  by  years,  nor  annihilated  by  distance,  nor 
forgotten  when  they  sleep  in  dust.  Marks  of  age 
may  appear  in  our  homes  and  on  our  persons,  but  the 
memory  of  a  beloved  parent  is  more  enduring  than 
that  of  time  itself.  Who  has  stood  by  the  grave  of 
a  mother  and  not  remembered  her  pleasant  smiles, 
kind  words,  earnest  prayer,  and  assurance  expressed 
in  a  dying  hour?  Many  years  may  have  passed, 
memory  may  be  treacherous  in  other  things,  but  will 
reproduce  with  freshness  the  impressions  once  made 
by  a  mother's  influence.  Why  may  we  not  linger 
where  rests  all  that  was  earthly  of  a  beloved  parent  ? 
It  may  have  a  restraining  influence  upon  the  way- 
ward, prove  a  valuable  incentive  to  increased  faithful- 
ness, encourage  hope  in  the  hour  of  depression,  and 
give  fresh  inspiration  to  Christian  life. 

The  mother's  love  is  indeed  the  golden  cord 
which  binds  youth  to  age  ;  and  he  is  still  but  a  child, 
however  time  may  have  furrowed  his  cheek  or  sil- 
vered his  brow,  who  can  yet  recall  with  a  softened 
heart  the  fond  devotion  or  the  gentle  chidings  of  the 
best  friend  that  God  ever  gave  us.  Round  the  idea 


54  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  mother  the  mind  of  a  man  clings  with  fond  affec- 
tion. It  is  the  first  deep  thought  stamped  upon  our 
infant  heart,  when  yet  soft  and  capable  of  receiving 
the  most  profound  impressions ;  and  the  after  feelings 
of  the  world  are  more  or  less  light  in  comparison 
Even  in  old  age  we  look  back  to  that  feeling  as  the 
sweetest  we  have  known  through  life. 

Our  passions  and  our  willfulness  may  lead  us  far 
from  the  object  of  our  filial  love ;  we  may  come  even 
to  pain  their  heart,  to  oppose  their  wishes,  to  violate 
their  commands.  We  may  become  wild,  headstrong, 
or  angry  at  their  counsels  or  oppositions  ;  but  when 
death  has  stilled  their  monitory  voices,  and  nothing 
but  silent  memory  remains  to  recapitulate  their  vir- 
tues and  deeds,  affection,  like  a  flower  broken  to  the 
ground  by  a  past  storm,  lifts  up  her  head  and  smiles 
away  our  tears.  When  the  early  period  of  our  loss 
forces  memory  to  be  silent,  fancy  takes  her  place,  and 
twines  the  image  of  our  dead  parents  with  a  garland 
of  graces,  beauties,  and  virtues,  which  we  doubt  not 
they  possessed. 


j|NFANCY,  the  morning  of  life  !  How  beautiful 
it  is !  How  filled  with  great  responsibilities  !  An 
immortal  soul  commences  its  existence.  A  life, 
beginning  in  time,  but  capable  of  growing  brighter 

when  time  is  ended  and  eternity  begun,  commences 

to  note  the  passing  hours. 


INFANCY.  55 

We  welcome  the  infant  with  joy,  and  congratu- 
late the  parents,  and  we  do  well;  but  to  an  angel, 
who  can  clearly  understand  the  infinite  value  of  the 
life  just  commenced,  the  heights  of  happiness  to  which 
it  may  ascend,  the  depths  of  misery  to  which  it  may 
be  brought,  it  must  seem  a  moment  so  deeply  freighted 
with  solemn  meaning  as  to  dispel  all  expressions  of 
joy,  save  only  of  a  subdued  and  chastened  kind. 

Infancy  has  its  hours  of  anxiety  and  trials  for  the 
parents,  but  it  has  also  its  hours  of  compensating 
joys.  When  sickness  is  in  the  midst,  and  it  seems 
as  if  the  cradle  song  would  be  exchanged  for  a  dirge, 
what  utter  wretchedness  of  heart  is  the  parent's  por- 
tion !  A  mother  watching  the  palpitating  frame  of 
her  child  as  life  ebbs  slowly  away  evokes  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  sternest.  A  child  dying  dies  but  once, 
but  the  mother  dies  a  hundred  times.  A  mother 
mourning  by  the  grave  of  her  first-born,  and  strew- 
ing flowers  over  a  coffined  form  instead  of  kisses  on 
a  warm  brow,  is  one  of  the  deepest  spectacles  of 
human  woe.  These  are  the  dark  shades,  the  night 
scenes  of  the  parents'  experience ;  but  it  has  its 
richer,  deeper,  and  more  inspiring  history,  its  seasons 
of  comfort  and  delight,  when  the  little  child,  insensi- 
bly, perhaps,  draws  the  parents  into  a  higher  and  a 
better  life.  What  a  sense  of  delicious  responsibility 
fills  the  parents'  hearts  as  they  realize  that  in  their 
hands  and  under  their  influence  is  to  be  molded  a 
character,  that  they  are  the  ones  to  carefully  watch 
the  unfolding  of  a  human  life,  the  development  of  a 
human  soul. 


56  GOLDEN  OEMS  OF  LIFE. 

How  earnestly  should  they  seek  to  set  a  watch 
over  their  lips,  to  guard  well  their  thoughts  and  ac- 
tions, to  surround  the  child  with  such  an  air  of  refined, 
intelligent,  loving  kindness  that  its  young  life  shall  as 
naturally  grow  into  a  youth  of  beauty  and  a  noble 
manhood  or  true  womanhood  as  that  the  bud  on  the 
rose-bush  expands  to  the  gorgeous  flower  that  ex- 
cites universal  admiration.  Welcome  to  the  parents 
the  puny  struggler,  strong  in  his  weakness,  his  little 
arms  more  irresistible  than  the  soldier's,  his  lips 
touched  with  persuasion  which  Chatham  and  Pericles 
in  manhood  had  not.  His  unaffected  lamentation 
when  he  lifts  up  his  voice  on  high,  or,  more  beautiful, 
the  sobbing  child — the  face  all  liquid  grief,  as  he  tries 
to  swallow  his  vexation — soften  all  hearts  to  pity  and 
to  mirthful  and  clamorous  compassion. 

The  parent's  duty  commences  at  the  birth  of  the 
child.  There  is  importance  even  in  the  handling  of 
infancy.  If  it  is  unchristian  it  will  beget  unchristian 
states  and  feelings.  If  it  is  gentle,  even  patient  and 
loving,  it  prepares  a  mood  and  temper  like  its  own. 
Then  how  careful  to  banish  the  cross  word,  th.e  im- 
patient gesture!  Let  kind  and  loving  tones  only  fall 
on  its  ears,  and  only  gentle  hands  assist  it  in  its  little 
wants.  There  is  scarcely  room  to  doubt  that  all 
most  crabbed,  resentful,  passionate  characters  —  all 
most  even,  lovely,  firm,  and  true  ones — are  prepared 
in  a  great  degree  by  the  handling  of  the  nursery. 
The  biography  of  many  persons,  faithfully  written, 
would  ascribe  to  the  training  of  early  years  the 
molding  not  only  of  youthful  character,  but  the 


INFANCY.  57 

more  matured  forms  of  mental  and  moral  develop- 
ment of  after  years.  The  influence  thus  exerted  in 
the  early  days  of  infancy  is  often  the  almost  hopeless 
"casting  of  bread  upon  the  waters" — often  not 
found  in  any  of  its  favorable  developments  until  after 
"many  days."  The  cares  of  the  world  and  the  evil 
example  of  others  often  choke  the  word  of  a  good 
mother,  and  destroy  its  vitality ;  but  not  unfrequently 
it  will  be  found,  like  seed  long  buried  in  the  earth, 
to  spring  up  to  remembrance  in  active  life,  and  the 
counsels  imparted  to  the  "infant  of  days"  be  found 
to  influence  and  control  the  whole  destiny  of  the  man 
of  mature  years  and  gray  hairs. 

As  it  is  a  law  of  our  being  that  all,  even  the  most 
feeble  and  insignificant,  exert  a  reciprocal  influence 
on  all  around  them,  then  an  infant  exerts  a  great 
modifying  influence  on  the  elder  men  and  women 
around  it.  It  recalls  them  from  the  contemplation  of 
the  stern  realties  of  life  to  its  innocent  phases,  from 
disdainful,  self-reliant  pride  to  trustful  confidence. 
Hearts  that  but  for  the  smile  of  innocence  on  the 
prattling  lips  of  infancy  had  grown  callous  beat  once 
more  in  sympathy  with  the  distressed  around  them. 
The  feeble  clasp  of  well-nigh  helpless  hands  is  some- 
times powerful  enough  to  turn  strong  men  from  the 
road  to  ruin.  An  infant  in  his  cradle  is  king,  and 
wields  his  power  over  all  who  come  near  him. 

Infants  are  the  poetry  of  the  world;  the  fresh 
flowers  of  our  hearts  and  homes ;  little  conjurers, 
with  the  magic  of  their  natural  ways,  working  by 
their  spells  what  delights  and  enriches  all  ranks  and 


58  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

equalizes  the  different  classes  of  society.  Every  in- 
fant comes  into  the  world,  like  a  delegated  prophet, 
the  harbinger  and  herald  of  good  tidings,  whose  of- 
fice it  is  to  make  young  again  hearts  well-nigh  wea- 
ried with  the  cares  of  years.  A  child  warms  and 
softens  the  heart  by  its  gentle  presence ;  it  enriches 
the  soul  by  new  feeling,  and  it  awakens  within  it 
what  is  favorable  to  virtue.  An  infant  is  a  beam  of 
light,  a  fountain  of  love,  a  teacher,  whose  lessons  few 
can  resist.  They  recall  us  from  much  that  engenders 
and  encourages  selfishness,  that  freezes  the  affec- 
tions, roughens  the  manners,  and  indurates  the  heart. 
They  brighten  the  home,  deepen  love,  invigorate  ex- 
ertion, infuse  courage,  and  vivify  and  sustain  the 
charities  of  life. 

An  infant  finds  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  all  people. 
The  selfish  and  proud  open  their  hearts  to  its  silent 
influence.  The  aged,  who  are  standing  near  the 
end  of  the  journey  of  life,  have  the  scenes  of  their 
younger  clays  called  up  afresh  by  the  child's  artless 
ways,  and  in  its  company  grow  young  again.  The 
disconsolate  seem  to  catch  a  fresh  gleam  of  hope 
when  they  see  the  confiding  ways  of  the  little  child, 
and  take  heart  again. 

It  would  seem  fitting  that  nature  should  exempt 
little  children  from  sickness  and  death,  but,  alas !  im- 
partial fate,  which, 

"With  eqiuil  p;ice, 
Knocks  at  the  palace  as  the  cottage  gate," 

Is  no  respecter  of  age.  What  a  great  hush  falls  on 
the  ear,  like  a  pall,  and  an  untold  sadness  settles 


INFANCY.  59 

over  the  heart  when  the  little  child  is  sick.  Is  it  not 
strange  that  such  a  wee  bit  of  a  thing  should  have 
the  power  to  change  every  thing,  making  the  sun- 
shine that  but  yesterday  played  in  and  out  of  the 
windows  so  merrily  and  bright  seem  such  a  mockery 
co-day,  changing  the  joyous  tones  of  the  other  chil- 
dren into  funeral  notes?  Why  is  it  that  the  soft 
winds,  which  but  lately  seemed  burdened  with  joy, 
and  came  softly  whispering  of  pleasant  dells,  of  flow- 
ing streams,  of  flowery  banks,  to-day  seem  strangely 
sighing,  to  have  exchanged  its  joy  for  sorrow? 

But  such  is  the  spell  that  baby  has  woven,  knitting 
itself  into  the  very  meshes  of  our  hearts  in  such  a 
quiet,  subduing  manner  that  we  scarcely  know  how 
clear  it  is  until  the  little  form  lies  still  and  prostrate. 
Great  as  is  the  influence  of  the  little  child  while  liv- 
ing it  has  also  a  sweet  and  sacred  influence  when  its 
brief  life  is  over  and  the  solemn  ''dust  unto  dust" 
and  "ashes  unto  ashes"  has  been  said  over  the  little 
mound  in  the  church-yard. 

Sweet  places  for  pure  thought  and  holy  medita- 
tion are  these  little  graves.  They  are  depositories 
of  the  mother's  sweetest  joy,  unfolded  buds  of  inno- 
cence, humanity  nipped  by  the  frosts  of  time  ere  yet 
a  canker-worm  of  corruption  has  nestled  among  its 
embryo  petals. 

Callous,  indeed,  must  be  the  heart  of  him  who 
can  stand  by  a  little  grave-side  and  not  have  the 
holiest  emotions  of  the  soul  awakened  to  thoughts 
of  purity  and  joy,  which  belong  alone  to  God  and 
heaven.  The  mute  preacher  at  his  feet  tells  of  a  life 


60  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

begun  and  ended  without  a  stain;  and  surely  if  this 
be  vouchsafed  to  mortality,  how  much  more  pure  and 
holier  must  be  the  spirit-land,  enlightened  by  the  sun 
of  infinite  goodness,  from  whence  emanated  the  soul 
of  that  brief  sojourner  among  us !  How  swells  the 
soul  with  joy  when  standing  by  the  earth-beds  of  lost 
little  ones,  sorrowful  because  a  sweet  treasure  has 
been  taken  away,  joyful  because  that  sweet  jewel 
glitters  in  the  diadem  of  the  redeemed. 

Such,  then,  is  infancy.  'Tis  the  brief  morning 
hour  which  precedes  the  busy  day.  It  may  be  grand 
and  beautiful,  while  its  after  life  may  but  be  dark 
and  lowering,  going  out  at  last  with  wailing  winds 
and  weeping  storms.  Or  it  may  be  bleak  and  dreary, 
only  at  last  to  break  forth  into  the  full  glory  of  the 
beauteous  Summer  day.  But  whatever  its  present 
state  care  and  trouble  and  sorrow  are  sure  to  await 
it.  So  train  it,  then,  that  it  shall  expect  them  and 
look  to  the  only  true  source  for  aid  and  assistance 
for  the  trials  that  lie  in  store  for  it. 


H1LDHOOD,  after  reason  has  begun  her  sway, 
seems  to  us  the  happiest  season  cf  life.  It  is 
also  the  critical  period.  At  this  time  they  re- 
ceive  those  impressions  and  contract  those  hab- 
its which  impel  them  towards  the  good  and  true  or 
towards  the  evil  and  false. 


CHILDHOOD.  61 

The.  child's  soul  is  without  character.  It  is  a 
rudimental  existence,  pure  as  the  driven  snow — beau- 
tifil  as  a  cherub  angel,  spotless,  guileless,  and  inno- 
cent. It  is  the  chart  of  a  man  yet  to  be  filled  up 
with  the  elements  of  a  character.  These  elements 
are  first' outlined  by  the  parents.  With  what  delicacy 
should  they  use  the  pencil  of  personal  influence ! 
The  soul  is*  soft,  and  the  lines  they  make  are  deep 
and  not  easily  erased.  It  is  a  man  they  form.  Re- 
sponsible work  !  It  is  an  immortal  soul  they  work 
upon,  destined  to  'survive,  the  wreck  of  matter  and 
the  crush  of  worlds,  and  to"  show  in  its  character 
forever  some  distant  trace,  at  least,  of  their  work. 

Never  believe  any  thing  that  concerns  children  to 
be  of  no  importance.  A  hasty  word  is  of  conse- 
quence. The  little  things  that  they  see  and  hear 
about  them  mold  them  for  eternity.  Observe  how 
very  quick  the  child's  eye  is  to  perceive  the  meaning 
of  looks,  voices,  and  motions.  It.  peruses  all  faces, 
colors,  and  sounds.  Every  sentiment  that  looks  into 
its  eye  is  reflected  therefrom,  and  plays  in  miniature 
on  its  countenance.  The  tear  that  steals  down  the 
cheek  of  a  mother's  suppressed  grief  gathers  the 
little  infantile  face  into  a  sob.  With  a  wondering 
silence  it  studies  the  mother  in  her  prayers,  and 
looks  up  with  her  in  that  exploring  watch  which  sig- 
nifies unspoken  prayer.  If  the  child  be  tended  with 
impatience,  or  coolly  and  with  a  lack  of  motherly 
gentleness,  it  straightway  shows  by  its  action  that  it, 
too,  feels  the  sting  of  just  that  which  is  felt  towards 
it.  And  thus  it  is  angered  by  anger,  fretted  by  fret- 


62  GOLDEX  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

fulness,  irritated  by  irritation,  having  impressed  upon 
it  just  that  kind  of  impatience  or  ill- nature  which  is 
felt  towards  it,  and  growing  faithfully  into  the  bad 
mold  as  by  a  fixed  law. 

However  apparently  trivial  the  influences  which 
contribute  to  form  the  character  of  the  child,  they 
endure  through  life.  Those  impulses  to  conduct 
which  last  the  longest  and  are  rooted  the  deepest 
always  have  their  origin  near  our  birth.  It  is  there 
that  the  germs  of  virtue  or  vice,  of  feeling  or  senti- 
ment, are  first  implanted  which  determine  the  char- 
acter for  life.  It  is  in  childhood  that  the  mind  is 
most  open  to  impression,  and  ready  to  be  kindled  by 
the  first  spark  that  flies  into  it.  The  first  thing  con- 
tinues always  with  the  child.  The  first  joy,  the  first 
failure,  the  first  achievement,  the  first  misadventure, 
paint  the  foreground  of  life. 

Influence  is  as  quiet  and  imperceptible  on  the 
child's  mind  as  the  falling  of  snowflakes  on  the 
meadows.  One  can  not  tell  the  hour  when  the  hu- 
man mind  is  not  in  the  condition  of  receiving  impres- 
sions from  exterior  moral  forces.  In  innumerable 
instances  the  most  secret  and  unnoticed  influences 
have  been  in  operation  for  months,  and  even  years, 
to  break  down  the  strongest  barriers  of  the  human 
heart,  and  work  out  its  moral  ruin  while  yet  the 
fondest  parents  and  friends  have  been  unaware  of 
the  working  of  such  unseen  agents  of  evil. 

Children  are  more  easily  led  to  be  good  by  ex- 
amples of  loving  kindness  and  tales  of  well-doing  in 
others  than  threatened  into  obedience  by  records  of 


CHILDHOOD.  63 

sin,  crime,  and  punishment.  Then  strive  to  impress 
on  t^e  child's  mind  sincerity,  truth,  honesty,  benevo- 
lence, and  their  kindred  virtues,  and  the  welfare  of 
your  child,  not  only  for  this  life,  but  for  the  life  to 
come,  will  be  assured.  What  a  responsibility  it  is  tc 
form  a  creature,  the  frailest  and  feeblest  that  heaven 
has  made,  into  the  intelligent  and  fearless  sovereign 
of  the  whole  animated  universe,  the  interpreter, 
adorer,  and  almost  representative  of  Divinity  ! 

There  is  much  mistaken  kindness  in  the  manage- 
ment of  children.  The  law  of  love  is  great,  but  it 
showeth  not  its  full  strength,  save  when  united  with 
kindness.  Make  your  children  helpful  and  useful, 
and  you  make  them  happy.  Let  them  early  form 
habits  of  neatness,  and  when  you  are  weary  you  will 
not  have  to  wait  on  their  carelessness. 

Teach  them  to  give  you  courteous  speech  and 
manners,  and  they  will  live  to  honor  you.  Take 
pains  to  have  the  home  attractions  stronger  than  can 
come  from  outside  influences.  It  is  a  sad  fact  that 
few  children  confide  in  their  parents.  The  parents 
must  take  an  interest  in  them,  and  draw  them  to 
their  hearts  instead  of  repelling  them  away.  There 
is  no  mystery  in  attaching  children  to  one's  self.  If 
you  love  them,  they  will  love  you.  If  you  make 
much  of  them,  they  will  make  much  of  you.  They 
can  readily  pick  out  the  children's  friend  among 
many.  They  have  a  quick  way  of  discerning  who 
really  love  them  and  who  care  for  them. 

Parents  do  not  think  how  far  a  word  of  praise 
tfill  ofttimes  go  with  children.  Praise  is  sunshine  to 


64  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

a  child,  and  there  is  no  child  who  does  not  need  it. 
It  is  the  high  reward  of  one's  struggle  to  do  right. 
Many  a  sensitive  child  hungers  for  commendation. 
Many  a  child,  starring  for  the  praise  which  parents 
should  give,  runs  off  eagerly  after  the  designing  flat- 
tery of  others.  To  withhold  praise  where  it  is  due 
is  dishonest,  and,  in  the  case  of  a  child,  such  a  course 
often  leaves  a  stinging  sense  of  injustice.  One  may 
as  well  think  to  rear  flowers  in  frost  as  to  think  of 
educating  children  successfully  in  rebuff  and  constant 
criticism.  Judicious  flattery  is  almost  one  of  the  ne- 
cessities of  existence  with  children.  Indiscriminate 
flattery  is,  of  course,  bad.  When  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  reprove  children,  use  the  gentlest  form  of 
address  under  the  circumstances.  Reproof  must  not 
fall  like  a  violent  storm,  breaking  down  and  making 
those  to  droop  whom  it  is  meant  to  cherish  and 
refresh.  It  must  descend  as  the  dew  upon  the  tender 
herb,  or  like  melting  flakes  of  snow.  The  softer  it 
falls,  the  longer  it  dwells  upon,  and  the  deeper  it 
sinks  into,  the  mind. 

Never  reprove  the  little  ones  before  strangers; 
for  children  are  as  sensitive,  if  not  more  so,  than 
older  persons,  and  wish  strangers  to  think  well  of 
them.  When  reproved  before  any  one  with  whom 
they  are  not  well  acquainted,  their  vanity  is  wounded. 
They  have  self-respect,  and  such  mortification  of  it  is 
dangerous.  Praise  spurs  a  child  on  to  earnest  effort; 
blame,  when  administered  before  visitors,  takes  away 
the  power  of  doing  well. 

It  is  the  parents'  duty  to  make  their  children's 


CHILDHOOD.  65 

childhood  full  of  love  and  childhood's  proper  joyous- 
ness.  Not  all  the  appliances  that  wealth  can  buy  are 
necessary  to  the  free  and  happy  unfolding  of  child- 
hood in  body,  mind,  and  heart.  *  But  children  must 
have  love  inside  the  house,  and  fresh  air  and  good 
play  and  companionship  outside  ;  otherwise  young  life 
runs  the  danger  of  withering  and  growing  stunted, 
or,  at  best,  prematurely  old  and-  turned  inward  on 
itself.  There  is  something  in  loving  dependent  chil- 
dren, in  tender  care  for  them,  which  bestows  upon 
the  soul  the  most  enriching  of  its  experience.  They 
make  us  tender  and  sympathetic,  and  a  thousand 
times  reward  us  for  all  we  do  for  them.  We  are  in- 
debted to  them  for  constant  incentives  to  noble 
living ;  for  the  perpetual  reminder  that  we  do  not 
live  for  ourselves  alone.  For  their  sake  we  are  ad- 
monished to  put  from  us  the  debasing  appetite,  the 
unworthy  impulse ;  to  gather  into  our  lives  every 
noble  and  heroic  quality,  every  tender  and  attractive 
grace.  We  owe  them  gratitude  for  the  dark  hour 
their  presence  has  brightened;  for  the  helplessness 
and  dependence  which  have  won  us  from  ourselves  ; 
for  the  faith  and  trust  which  it  is  evermore  their 
mission  to  renew  ;  for  their  kisses,  wet  with  tears, 
placed  on  brows  that,  but  for  their  caressing,  had 
furrowed  into  frowns. 

The  gleeful  laugh  of  happy  children  is  the  best 
home  music,  and  the  graceful  figures  of  childhood 
are  the  best  statuary.  They  are  well-springs  of 
pleasure,  messengers  of  peace  and  love,  resting- 
places  for  innocence,  links  between  angels  and  men. 

5 


66  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Their  eyes,  those  clear  wells  of  undefiled  thought, — 
what  is  more  beautiful  ?  Full  of  hope,  love,  and  cu- 
riosity, they  meet  your  own.  In  prayer,  how  earnest ; 
in  joy,  how  sparkling ;  in  sympathy,  how  tender ! 
The  man  or  woman  who  never  tried  the  companion- 
ship of  a  little  child  has  carelessly  passed  by  one  of 
the  greatest  pleasures  of  life,  as  one  passes  a  rare 
flower  without  plucking  or  knowing  its  value.  A 
home,  and  no  children, — it  is  like  a  lantern,  and  no 
candle  ;  a  garden,  and  no  flowers  ;  a  vine,  and  no 
grapes  ;  a  brook,  and  no  water  gurgling  and  gushing 
in  its  channels. 

Nature  affords  striking  proofs  of  foresight  and 
wisdom  in  making  the  bonds  of  parental  sympathy 
so  invincibly  strong  and  lasting.  During  childhood 
and  youth,  and  even  afterwards,  when  these  charming1 
epochs  of  life  have  passed  away,  the  ties  of  constancy 
and  attachment  continue  to  prevail.  Were  not  the 
chords  of  love  thus  strengthened,  they  would  fre- 
quently be  snapped  asunder ;  for  the  severest  trials 
which  the  world  knows  are  those  which  assail  the 
parental  heart  and  pierce  it  with  the  deepest  sorrows. 

How  fleeting  are  the  happiness  and  innocent 
guilelessness  of  childhood !  The  years  as  they  come 
bring  with  them  intelligence  and  experience  ;  but 
they  take  with  them,  in  their  resistless  course,  the 
innocent  pleasures  of  childhood's  years.  Then  deal 
gently,  patiently,  and  kindly  with  them.  You  may 
be  nearly  over  the  rough  pathway  of  life  your- 
selves ;  make  the  only  time  of  life  that  they  can  call 
Jiappy  as  pleasant  as  possible.  "  Our  children,"  says 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER.  67 

Madame  de  Stael,  "who  are  tenderly  reared  by  us, 
are  soon  destined  for  others  than  ourselves.  They 
soon  stride  rapidly  forward  in  the  career  of  life, 
while  we  fall  slowly  back.  They,  soon  begin  to  re- 
gard their  parents  in  the  light  of  memory  and  to 
look  upon  others  in  the  light  of  hope." 

They  will  not  trouble  you  long.  Children  grow 
up ;  nothing  on  earth  grows  so  fast  as  children.  It 
was  but  yesterday  and  that  lad  was  playing  with 
tops,  a  buoyant  boy.  He  is  a  man  now.  There 
is  no  more  childhood  for  him  or  for  us.  Life  has 
claimed  him.  When  a  beginning  is  made,  it  is  like 
a  raveling  stocking  ;  stitch  by  stitch  gives  way  till  all 
are  gone.  The  house  has  not  a  child  left  in  it ; 
there  is  no  more  noise  in  the  hall ;  no  boys  rush  in, 
pell-mell  ;  it  is  very  orderly  now.  There  are  no 
more  skates  or  sleds,  bats,  balls,  or  strings  left  scat- 
tered about.  There  are  no  more  gleeful  laughs  of 
happy  girls,  or  dolls  left  to  litter  the  best  room. 
There  is  no  delay  for  sleeping  folks  ;  there  is  no 
longer  any  task  before  you  lie  down.  But  the  moth- 
er's heart  is  heavy,  and  the  father's  house  is  lonely. 


jHE  affections  that  exist  between  the  members 
of  the  same  family  afford  a  pleasing  spectacle 
of   human    happiness.     That   which    exists   be- 
tween brother  and  sister  should  be  assiduously 
cultivated.     It  is  a  beautiful  and  lovely  feeling,  and 


68  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

seems  to  be  wholly  angelic  in  its  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings. It  must  necessarily  be  a  pure,  spiritual  love.  It 
arises,  not  from  a  sense  of  gratitude,  or  for  favors  re- 
ceived, or  from  any  thing  save  the  endearing  relation- 
ship of  family.  It  rests  not  on  any  thing  but  a  spiritual 
affinity  of  soul.  It  should  be  cultivated  as  one  o 
the  sweetest  plants  in  the  garden  of  the  heart.  It 
should  be  watered  every  morning  and  evening  with 
the  dews  of  good  nature,  and  sunned  all  day  with 
the  light  of  kindness.  It  should  hear  nothing  but 
loving  and  tender  words,  even  the  dulcet  music  of 
home ;  see  nothing  but  smiles  and  the  tokens  of  con- 
fidence and  sympathy,  and  know  nothing  but  its  own 
spirit  of  tenderness  and  unity. 

How  large  and  cherished  a  place  does  a  good 
sister's  love  always  hold  in  the  grateful  memory  of 
one  who  has  been  blessed  with  the  benefit  of  this 
relation !  How  many  are  there  who,  in  the  changes 
of  mature  years,  have  found  a  sister's  love  their 
ready  and  adequate  resource!  With  what  a  sense 
of  security  is  confidence  reposed  in  a  good  sister, 
and  with  what  assurance  that  it  will  be  uprightly  and 
considerately  given  is  her  counsel  sought !  How  in- 
timate is  the  friendship  of  such  a  brother  and  sister 
not  widely  separated  in  age  from  one  another! 

What  a  reliance  for  warning,  caution,  and  sym- 
pathy has  each  secured  in  each !  How  many  are 
the  brothers  who,  when  thrown  into  circumstances 
of  temptation,  have  found  the  thought  of  a  sister's 
love  a  constant,  holy  presence,  rebuking  every  way 
'ward  thought !  How  many  brothers  are  there  from 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER.  69 

whom  death  separated  the  sister  years  ago  who  yet 
feel  her  influence  thrown  around  them  like  sweet  in- 
cense from  an  unseen  censor  ;  who  are  arrested,  when 
just  about  to  take  a  downward  step,  by  the  memory 
of  a  reproving  look  from  eyes  that  have  long  been 
closed ;  who  have  pursued  their  weary  path  of  duty, 
cheered  by  the  remembrance  of  a  smile  from  lips 
that  will  never  smile  again  ! 

Who  can  tell  the  thoughts  that  cluster  around 
the  word  sister  ?  How  ready  she  is  to  forgive  the 
foibles  of  a  brother!  She  never  deserts  him.  In 
adversity  she  clings  closely  to  him,  and  in  trial  she 
cheers  him.  When  the  bitter  voice  of  reproach  is 
poured  in  his  ears  she  is  ever  ready  to  hush  its  hard 
tones,  and  to  turn  his  attention  away  from  its  painful 
notes.  Let  him  move  in  pleasant  paths,  she  hangs 
clusters  of  flowers  about  him. 

In  watching  his  favored  career  and  listening  to  his 
eulogy  she  feels  the  purest  satisfaction.  The  cold 
grave  can  not  crush  her  affections  for  him — it  out- 
lives her  tears  and  sighs ;  and  hence  she  often 
wanders  to  the  spot  where  he  reposes  with  the  fra- 
grant rose-bush  and  creeping  honeysuckle,  and  plants 
them  on  his  tomb;  and  who  will  dare  to  affirm  her 
love  perishes  when  she  passes  away  from  earth  ? 
May  it  not  live  far  off  in  the  glorious  land,  increasing 
in  fervor  and  intensity  as  the  years  of  eternity  pass 
away  ? 

Affection  does  not  beget  weakness,  nor  is  it  ef- 
feminate for  a  brother  to  be  firmly  attached  to  a 
sister.  Such  a  boy  will  make  a  noble  and  brave 


70  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

man.  The  young  man  who  was  accustomed  to  kiss 
his  sweet,  innocent  sister  night  and  morning  as  they 
met  shows  its  influence  upon  him.  He  will  never 
forget  it,  and  when  he  shall  take  some  one  to  his 
heart  as  his  wiie  she  shall  reap  the  golden  fruits 
thereof.  The  young  man  who  is  in  the  habit  of  giv- 
ing his  arm  to  his  sister  as  they  walk  to  and  from 
church  will  never  leave  his  wife  to  find  her  way  as 
best  she  can.  He  who  has  been  trained  to  see  that 
his  sister  was  seated  before  he  sought  his  own  will 
never  mortify  a  neglected  wife  in  the  presence  of 
strangers.  And  the  young  man  who  frequently 
handed  his  sister  to  her  chair  at  the  table  will  never 
have  cause  to  blush  as  he  sees  some  gentleman 
extend  to  his  wife  the  courtesy  she  knows  is  due 
from  him. 

The  intercourse  of  brother  and  sistei  forms  an 
important  element  in  the  happy  influence  of  home. 
A  boisterous  or  a  selfish  boy  may  try  to  domineer 
over  the  weaker  or  more  dependent  girl.  But  gen- 
erally the  latter  exerts  a  softening  influence.  The 
brother  animates  and  heartens ;  the  sister  modifies 
and  refines.  The  vine-tree  and  its  sustaining  elm 
are  the  emblems  of  such  a  relation ;  and  by  such 
agencies  our  "sons  may  become  like  plants  grown 
up  in  youth,  and  our  daughters  like  corner-stones 
polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  temple." 

Sisters  scarcely  knew  the  influence  they  have 
over  their  brothers.  A  young  man  is  pretty  much 
what  his  sister  and  young  lady  friends  choose  to 
make  him.  If  sisters  are  watchful  and  affectionate. 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER.  71 

they  may  in  various  ways  lead  them  along  till  their 
characters  are  formed,  and  then  a  high  respect  for 
ladies  and  a  manly  self-respect  will  keep  them  from 
mingling  in  low  society. 

Girls,  especially  those  who  are  members  of  a 
Jarge  family,  have  a  great  influence  at  home,  where 
brothers  delight  in  their  sisters,  and  where  parents 
look  fondly  down  on  their  daughters.  Girls  have 
much  in  their  power  with  regard  to  those  boys ; 
they  have  in  their  power  to  make  them  gentler, 
truer,  purer ;  to  give  them  higher  opinion  of  woman ; 
to  soften  their  manner  and  ways  ;  to  tone  down  rough 
places,  and  shape  sharp,  angular  corners.  They 
should  interest  themselves  in  their  pursuits,  and  show 
them  by  every  means  in  their  power  that  they  do  not 
consider  them  and  their  doings  beneath  their  notice. 

But  few  sisters  realize  how  much  they  have  to  do 
with  the  welfare  of  their  brothers — how  much  it  is 
in  their  power  to  win  them  to  the  right  modes  of 
thoughts  and  actions  by  little  acts  of  sisterly  atten- 
tions. If  they  would  but  spare  an  hour  now  and 
then  from  their  peculiar  employment  to  their  boyish 
sports,  and  not  turn  contemptuously  away  from  the 
books  and  amusements  in  which  they  delight,  they 
would  soon  find  how  a  gentle  word  would  turn  off  a 
sharp  answer  ;  how  a  genial  look  would  effectually 
reprove  an  unfitting  expression ;  how  gratefully  a 
small  kindness  would  be  received,  and  how  un- 
bounded would  be  the  power  for  good  they  would 
obtain  by  a  continuance  of  such  conduct. 

Fortunate  is  the   family  that   possesses   such  an 


72  GOLDES  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

elder  sister.  The  mother  confides  in  her,  the  father 
takes  pride  in  her  ability  to  aid  and  cheer  the  house- 
hold, and  the  younger  ones  lean  upon  her.  By  her 
counsels,  her  example,  her  influence,  she  may  do  as 
much  as  the  parents  to  give  to  the  family  life.  She 
is  at  once  companion  and  counselor  for  the  youngei 
members,  since  separated  by  only  a  brief  interval 
from  the  sports  of  childhood  she  can  sympathize 
easily  with  the  little  wants  and  little  griefs  that  fill 
the  child's  heart  to  overflowing,  and  show  it  how  to 
compass  its  desires  and  forget  its  sorrows.  A  short 
girlhood  is  usually  the  allotment  of  the  oldest  daugh- 
ter; but  this  is  more  than  made  up  to  her  in  the 
long  and  delightful  companionship  she  has  with  her 
mother,  in  the  sense  she  is  made  to  have  of  her  own 
importance  in  the  family,  and  the  unusual  capability 
she  is  obliged  by  the  force  of  circumstances  to  ac- 
quire and  display. 

It  is  a  law  of  our  being  that  no  improvement  that 
takes  place  in  either  of  the  sexes  is  confined  to  itself; 
each  is  the  universal  mirror  to  each,  and  the  refine- 
ments of  the  one  will  always  be  in  reciprocal  propor- 
tion to  the  polish  of  the  other.  The  brother  and 
sister  should  grow  up 'together,  be  educated  at  the 
same  school,  engage  in  the  same  sports,  and,  as  far 
as  practicable,  in  the  same  labors.  Their  joys  and 
sorrows,  tastes  and  aims,  should  be  mutual  as  far  as 
possible.  The  same  moral  lessons,  obligations,  and 
duties  should  bear  upon  them.  It  is  an  error  that 
the  youths  of  our  land  are  separated  in  so  many  of 
the  most  important  duties  of  life. 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER.  73 

Much  evil  is  caused  by  mistaken  opinions  on  this 
point.  The  girls  are  taught  that  it  is  not  pretty  to 
be  with  the  boys  and  the  boys  that  it  is  not  manly 
to  be  with  the  girls,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
society  of  each  is  necessary  for  the  best  development 
of  character  in  the  other.  When  they  do  meet  it  is 
only  for  sport  and  nonsense,  to  cajole  and  deceive 
each  other.  Hence  the  good  influence  they  should 
have  upon  each  other  is  in  a  great  measure  lost. 
They  are  unacquainted  with  each  other,  know  not 
each  other's  natures,  and  have  but  little  interest  in 
each  other's  business  and  duties. 

We  want  the  girls  to  rival  the  boys  in  all  that  is 
good,  refined,  and  ennobling.  We  want  them  to 
rival  the  boys,  as  they  well  can,  in  learning,  in  un- 
derstanding, in  all  noble  qualities  of  mind  and  heart, 
but  not  in  any  of  the  rougher  qualities  and  traits. 
We  want  the  girls  to  be  gentle  —  not  weak,  but 
gentle — and  kind  and  affectionate.  We  want  to  be 
sure  that  wherever  a  girl  is  there  should  be  a  sweet, 
subduing,  and  harmonizing  influence  of  purity  and 
truth  and  love  pervading  and  hallowing  from  center 
to  circumference  the  entire  circle  in  which  she  moves. 
It  is  her  mission  to  instruct  the  boys  in  all  need- 
ful lessons  of  neatness  and  order,  of  patience  and 
goodness. 

We  want  the  boys  to  be  gentle,  courteous,  and 
considerate  towards  their  younger  sisters;  to  be  the 
protector  and  emulator  of  their  virtues.  We  want  to 
be  sure  that  where  there  is  a  boy  there  will  go  forth 
the  influence  inspired  by  the  courage  of  manly  self- 


74  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

respect — a  respect  that  keeps  him  from  mingling  in 
low  society.  We  want  him  to  be  every  whit  a  man, 
a  fit  friend  and  companion  for  true  womanhood. 
We  want  to  see  them  both  enjoy  the  Spring-time  of 
life,  for  this  is  the  season  of  joy,  of  bliss,  of  strength, 
of  pride;  it  is  the  treasury  of  life,  in  which  nature 
stores  up  those  riches  which  are  for  our  future 
employment  and  profit.  Youth  is  to  age  what  the 
[lower  is  to  the  fruit,  the  leaf  to  the  tree,  the  sand 
to  the  glass.  Hence  we  want  to  see  them  both  so 
using  the  golden  age  of  youth  as  to  be  able  to  reap 
a  rich  harvest  in  the  years  of  maturity. 


?ANHOOD  is  the  isthmus  between  two  ex- 
tremes— the  ripe,  the  fertile  season  of  action, 
when  alone  we  can  hope  to  find  the  head  to 
contrive  united  with  the  hand  to  execute. 
Each  age  has  its  peculiar  duties  and  privileges, 
pleasures  and  pains.  When  young  we  trust  our- 
selves too  much ;  when  old  we  trust  others  too  little. 
Rashness  is  the  error  of  youth,  timid  caution  of  age. 
In  youth  we  build  castles  and  plan  for  ourselves  a 
course  of  action  through  life.  As  we  approach  old 
age  we  see  more  and  more  plainly  that  we  are  simply 
carried  forward  by  a  mighty  torrent,  borne  here  and 
there  against  our  will.  We  then  perceive  how  little 
control  we  have  had  in  reality  over  our  course;  that 


MANHOOD.  75 

our  actions,  resolves,  and  endeavors,  which  seemed 
to  give  such  a  guiding  course  to  our  life, 

"Are  but  eddies  of  the  mighty  stream 
That  rolls  to  its  appointed  end," 

In  childhood  time  goes  by  on  leaden  wings, — ten, 
twenty  years,  a  life-time  seems  an  endless  period. 
At  manhood  we  are  surprised  that  time  goes  so 
rapidly;  we  then  comprehend  the  fleeting  period  of 
life.  In  old  age  the  years  that  are  passed  seem  as  a 
dream  of  the  night,  our  life  as  a  tale  nearly  told. 
Childhood  is  the  season  of  dreams  and  high  resolves ; 
manhood,  of  plans  and  actions;  age,  of  retrospection 
and  regret. 

There  is  certainly  no  age  more  potential  for  good 
or  evil  than  that  of  early  manhood.  The  young  men 
have,  with  much  propriety,  been  denominated  the 
flower  of  a  country.  To  be  a  man  and  seem  to  be 
one  are  two  different  things.  All  young  men  should 
carefully  consider  what  is  meant  by  manhood.  It  does 
not  consist  in  years  simply,  nor  in  form  and  figure. 
It  lies  above  and  beyond  these  things.  It  is  the 
product  of  the  cultivation  of  every  power  of  the  soul, 
and  of  every  high  spiritual  quality  naturally  inherent 
or  graciously  supplemented.  It  should  be  the  great 
object  of  living  to  attain  this  true  manhood.  There 
is  no  higher  pursuit  for  the  youth  to  propose  to  him- 
self. He  is  standing  at  the  opening  gates  of  active 
life.  There  he  catches  the  first  glimpse  of  the  pos- 
sibilities in  store  for  him.  There  he  first  perceives 
the  duties  that  will  shortly  devolve  upon  him.  What 


76  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

higher  aim  can  he  propose  to  himself  than  to  act  his 
part  in  life  as  becomes  a  man  who  lives  not  only  for 
time  but  for  eternity  ?  How  earnestly  should  he 
resolve  to  walk  worthily  in  all  that  true  manhood 
requires! 

There  are  certain  claims,  great  and  weighty,  rest- 
ing upon  all  young  men  which  they  can  not  shake  off 
if  they  would.  They  grow  out  of  those  indissoluble 
relations  which  they  sustain  to  society,  and  those 
invaluable  interests — social,  civil,  and  religious — with 
all  the  duties  and  responsibilities  connected  with 
them,  which  are  soon  to  be  transferred  to  their 
shoulders  from  the  venerable  fathers  who  have  borne 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day.  The  various  de- 
partments of  business  and  trust,  the  pulpit  and  the 
bar,  our  courts  of  justice  and  halls  of  legislation,  our 
civil,  "religious,  and  literary  institutions,  all,  in  short, 
that  constitute  society  and  go  to  make  life  useful  and 
happy,  are  to  be  in  their  hands  and  under  their 
control. 

Society,  in  committing  to  the  young  her  interests 
and  privileges,  imposes  upon  them  corresponding 
claims,  and  demands  that  they  be  prepared  to  fill 
with  honor  and  usefulness  the  places  which  they  are 
destined  to  occupy.  Young  men  can  not  take  a 
rational  view  of  the  station  to  which  they  are  ad- 
vancing, or  of  the  duties  that  are  coming  upon  them, 
without  feeling  deeply  their  need  of  high  and  peculiar 
qualifications. 

Every  young  man  should  come  forward  in  life 
with  a  determination  to  do  all  the  good  he  can,  and 


MANHOOD.  77 

to  leave  the  world  the  better  for  his  having  lived  in 
it  He  should  consider  that  he  was  not  made  for 
himself  alone,  but  for  society,  for  mankind,  and  for 
God.  He  should  consider  that  he  is  a  constituent, 
responsible  member  of  the  great  family  of  man,  and, 
while  he  should  pay  particular  attention  to  the  wants 
and  welfare  of  those  with  whom  he  is  immediately 
connected,  he  should  accustom  himself  to  send  his 
thoughts  abroad  over  the  wide  field  of  practical  be- 
nevolence. 

There  is  within  the  young  man  an  uprising  of 
lofty  sentiments  which  contribute  to  his  elevation, 
and  though  there  are  obstacles  to  be  surmounted 
and  difficulties  to  be  vanquished,  yet  with  truth  for 
his  watchword,  and  relying  on  his  own  noble  pur- 
poses and  exertions,  he  may  crown  his  brow  with  im- 
perishable honors.  He  may  never  wear  the  warrior's 
crimson  wreath,  the  poet's  chaplet  of  bays,  or  the 
statesman's  laurels ;  though  no  grand,  universal  truth 
may  at  his  bidding  stand  confessed  to  the  world; 
though  it  may  never  be  his  to  bring  to  a  successful 
issue  a  great  political  revolution ;  to  be  the  founder 
of  a  republic  which  shall  be  a  distinguished  star  in 
the  constellation  of  nations ;  even  more,  though  his 
name  may  never  be  heard  beyond  the  narrow  limits 
of  his  own  neighborhood,  yet  is  his  mission  none  the 
less  a  high  and  noble  one. 

In  the  moral  and  physical  world  not  only  the 
field  of  battle  but  also  the  cause  of  truth  and  virtue 
calls  for  champions,  and  the  field  for  doing  good  is 
white  unto  the  harvest.  If  he  enlists  in  the  ranks, 


78  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  his  spirits  faint  not,  he  may  write  his  name 
among  the  stars  of  heaven.  Beautiful  lives  have 
blossomed  in  the  darkest  places,  as  pure,  white  lilies, 
full  of  fragrance,  sometimes  bloom  on  the  slimy, 
stagnant  waters.  No  possession  is  so  productive  of 
'real  influence  as  a  highly  cultivated  intellect.  Wealth, 
birth,  and  official  station  may  and  do  secure  an  ex- 
ternal, superficial  courtesy,  but  they  never  did  and 
never  can  secure  the  reverence  of  the  heart.  It  is 
only  to  the  man  of  large  and  noble  soul — to  him 
who  blends  a  cultivated  mind  with  an  upright  heart — 
that  men  yield  the  tribute  of  deep  and  genuine  re- 
spect. A  man  should  never  glory  in  that  which  is 
common  to  a  beast ;  nor  a  wise  man  in  that  which  is 
common  to  a  fool ;  nor  a  good  man  in  that  which  is 
common  to  a  wicked  man. 

Since  it  is  in  the  intellect  that  we  trace  the  source 
of  all  that  is  great  and  noble  in  man  it  follows  that 
if  any  are  ambitious  to  possess  a  true  manhood  they 
will  be  men  of  reflection,  men  whose  daily  acts  are 
controlled  by  their  judgment,  men  who  recognize  the 
fact  that  life  is  a  real  and  earnest  affair,  that  time  is 
fleeting,  and,  consequently,  resolve  to  waste  none  of 
it  in  frivolities ;  men  whose  life  and  conversation  are 
indicative  of  that  serious  mien  and  deportment  which 
well  becomes  those  who  have  great  interests  com- 
mitted to  their  charge,  and  who  are  determined  that  in 
so  far  as  in  them  lies  life  with  them  shall  be  a  success, 
who  fully  realize  the  importance  of  every  step  they 
may  take,  and,  consequently,  bring  to  it  the  careful 
consideration  of  a  mind  trained  to  think  with  precision. 


MANHOOD.  79 

The  man  who  thinks,  reads,  studies,  and  medi- 
tates has  intelligence  cut  in  his  features,  stamped  on 
his  brow,  and  gleaming  in  his  eye.  Thinking,  not 
growth,  makes  perfect  manhood.  There  are  some 
who,  though  they  are  done  growing,  are  only  boys 
The  constitution  may  be  fixed  while  the  judgment  is 
immature  ;  the  limbs  may  be  strong  while  the  reason- 
ing is  feeble.  Many  who  can  run  and  jump  and  bear 
any  fatigue  can  not  observe,  can  not  examine,  can 
not  reason  or  judge,  contrive  or  execute — they  do 
not  think.  Such  persons,  though  they  may  have  the 
figure  of  a  man  and  the  years  of  a  man,  are  not  in 
possession  of  manhood  ;  they  will  not  acquire  it  until 
they  learn  to  look  beyond  the  present,  and  take  broad 
and  comprehensive  views  of  their  relations  to  society. 

As  we  often  mistake  glittering  tinsel  for  solid 
gold,  so  we  often  mistake  specious  appearances  for 
true  worth  and  manhood.  We  are  too  prone  to  take 
professions  and  words  in  lieu  of  actions ;  too  easily 
impressed  with  good  clothes  and  polite  bearings  to 
inquire  into  the  character  and  doings  of  the  individ- 
ual. Man  should  be  rated,  not  by  his  hoards  of 
gold,  not  by  the  simple  or  temporary  influence  he 
may  for  a  time  exert,  but  by  his  unexceptionable 
principles  relative  both  to  character  and  religion. 
Strike  out  these  and  what  is  he?  A  savage  without 
sympathy!  Take  them  away,  and  his  manship  is 
gone ;  he  no  longer  lives  in  the  image  of  his  Creator. 
No  smile  gladdens  his  lips,  no  look  of  sympathy  il- 
lumes his  countenance  to  tell  of  love  and  charity  for 
the  woes  of  others. 


80  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

But  let  man  go  abroad  with  just  principles,  and 
what  is  he  ?  An  exhaustless  fountain  in  a  vast  desert ! 
A  glorious  sun,  shining  ever,  dispelling  every  vestige 
of  darkness.  There  is  love  animating  his  heart, 
sympathy  breathing  in  every  tone.  Tears  of  pity — 
dew-drops  of  the  soul — gather  in  his  eye,  and  gush 
impetuously  down  his  cheek.  A  good  man  is  abroad, 
and  the  world  knows  and  feels  it.  Beneath  his  smile 
lurks  no  degrading  passion  ;  within  his  heart  there 
slumbers  no  guile.  He  is  not  exalted  in  mortal 
pride,  not  elevated  in  his  own  views,  but  honest, 
moral,  and  virtuous  before  the  world.  He  stands 
throned  on  truth ;  his  fortress  is  wisdom,  and  his 
dominion  is  the  vast  and  limitless  universe.  Always 
upright,  kind,  and  sympathizing;  always  attached  to 
just  principles,  and  actuated  by  the  same,  governed 
by  the  highest  motives  in  doing  good;  these  consti- 
tute his  only  true  manliness. 


should  be  the  highest  ambition  of  every  young 
woman  to  possess  a  true  womanhood.  Earth 
presents  no  higher  object  of  attainment.  To  be 
a  woman  is  the  truest  and  best  thing  beneath  the 
skies.  A  true  woman  exists  independent  of  outward 
adornments.  It  is  not  wealth,  or  beauty  of  person, 
or  connection,  or  station,  or  power  of  mind,  or  liter- 
ary attainments,  or  variety  and  richness  of  outward 


WOMANHOOD.  81 

accomplishments,  that  make  the  woman.  These  often 
adorn  womanhood,  as  the  ivy  adorns  the  oak,  but 
they  should  never  be  mistaken  for  the  thing  they 
adorn. 

The  great  error  of  womankind  is  that  they  take 
the  shadow  for  the  substance,  the  glitter  for  the 
gold,  the  heraldry  and  trappings  of  the  world  for  the 
priceless  essence  of  womanly  worth  which  exists 
within  the  mind.  Every  young  man,  as  a  general 
rule,  has  some  purpose  laid  down  for  the  grand  object 
of  his  life — some  plan,  for  the  accomplishment  of 
which  all  his  other  actions  are  made  to  serve  as 
auxiliaries.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  every  young 
woman  does  not  also  have  a  set  purpose  of  life — 
some  grand  aim,  grand  in  its  character.  She  should, 
in  the  first  place,  know  what  she  is,  what  power  she 
possesses,  what  influences  are  to  go  out  from  her,, 
what  position  in  life  she  was  designed  to  fill,  what 
duties  are  resting  upon  her,  what  she  is  capable  of 
being,  what  fields  of  profit  and  pleasure  are  open  to- 
ner, how  much  joy  and  pleasure  she  may  find  in  a 
true  life  of  womanly  activity. 

When  she  has  duly  considered  these  things,  she 
should  then  form  the  high  purpose  of  being  a  true 
woman,  and  make  every  circumstance  bend  to  her 
will  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  noble  purpose. 
There  can  be  no  higher  aim  to  set  before  herself. 
There  is  no  nobler  attainment  this  side  of  the  spirit- 
land  than  lofty  womanhood.  There  is  no  ambition 
more  pure  than  that  which  craves  this  crown  for 

her  mortal  brow.      To  be  a  genuine  woman,  full  of 
6 


82  GOLDEX  OEMS  OF  LIFE. 

womanly  instincts  and  power,  forming  the  intuitive 
genius  of  her  penetrative  soul,  the  subduing  author- 
ity of  her  gentle  yet  resolute  will,  is  to  be  a  peer 
of  earth's  highest  intelligence.  All  young  women 
have  this  noble  prize  before  them.  They  may  all 
put  on  the  glorious  crown  of  womanhood.  They 
may  make  their  lives  grand  in  womanly  virtues. 

A  true  woman  has  a  power,  something  peculiarly 
her  own,  in  her  moral  influence,  which,  when  duly 
developed,  makes  her  queen  over  a  wide  realm  of 
spirit.  But  this  she  can  possess  only  as  her  pow- 
ers are  cultivated.  It  is  cultivated  women  that  wield 
the  scepter  of  authority  among  men.  Wherever 
cultivated  woman  dwells,  there  is  refinement,  intel- 
lect, moral  power,  life  in  its  highest  form.  To  be 
a  cultivated  woman  she  must  commence  early,  and 
make  this  the  grand  aim  of  her  life.  Whether  she 
work  or  play,  travel  or  remain  at  home,  converse 
with  friends  or  study  bookc,  gaze  at  flowers  or  toil 
in  the  kitchen,  visit  the  pleasure  party  or  the  sanctu- 
ary of  God,  she  keeps  this  object  before  her  mind, 
and  taxes  all  her  powers  for  its  attainment. 

Every  young  woman  should  also  determine  to  do 
something  for  the  honor  and  elevation  of  her  sex. 
Her  powers  of  mind  and  body  should  be  applied  to  a 
good  end.  Let  her  resolve  to  help  with  the  weight 
of  her  encouragement  and  counsels  her  sisters  who 
are  striving  nobly  to  be  useful,  to  remove  as  far  as 
possible  the  obstacles  in  their  way.  Let  her  call  to 
her  aid  all  the  forces  of  character  she  can  command 
to  enable  her  to  persist  in  being  a  woman  of  the  true 


WOMANHOOD.  83 

Stamp.  In  every  class  of  society  the  young  women 
should  awaken  to  their  duty.  They  have  a  great 
work  to  do.  It  is  not  enough  that  they  should  be 
what  their  mothers  were — they  must  be  more.  The 
spirit  of  the  times  calls  on  women  for  a  higher  order 
of  character  and  life.  Will  they  heed  the  call?  Will 
they  emancipate  themselves  from  the  fetters  of  cus- 
tom and  fashion,  and  come  up,  a  glorious  company, 
to  the  possession  of  a  vigorous,  virtuous,  noble  wo- 
manhood, that  shall  shed  new  light*  upon  the  world 
and  point  the  way  to  a  divine  life  ? 

Woman's  influence  is  the  chief  anchor  of  society, 
and  this  influence  is  purifying  the  world,  and  the 
work  she  has  already  accomplished  will  last  forever. 
No  costly  marble  can  build  a  more  enduring  monu- 
ment to  her  memory  than  the  impress  she  makes  on 
her  own  household.  The  changing  scenes  of  life 
may  hurl  the  genius  of  man  from  eminence  to  utter 
ruin ;  for  his  life  hangs  on  the  fabric  of  public  opinion. 
But  the  honest  form  of  a  true  mother  reigns  queen 
in  the  hearts  of  her  children  forever. 

Man's  admirers  may  be  greater,  but  woman  holds 
her  kindred  by  a  silken  cord  of  familiar  kindness, 
strengthened  and  extended  by  each  little  courtesy  of 
a  life-time.  Man  may  make  his  monument  of  granite 
or  of  marble,  woman  hers  of  immortality.  Man  may 
enjoy  here,  she  will  enjoy  hereafter.  Man  may  move 
the  rough  crowd  by  his  eloquence,  woman  will  turn 
his  coarseness  into  a  cheerful  life.  Man  may  make 
laws  and  control  legislatures,  woman  will  mold  their 
minds  in  the  school-room  and  be  the  author  of  their 


84  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

grandest  achievements.  Cruelty  she  despises,  and  it 
lessens  at  her  bidding ;  purity  she  admires,  and  it 
grows  in  her  presence ;  music4  she  loves,  and  her 
home  is  full  of  its  melody  ;  happiness  is  her  herald, 
and  she  infuses  a  world  with  a  desire  for  enjoyment. 
Without  her,  cabins  would  be  fit  for  dwellings,  furs 
fit  for  clothing,  and  all  the  arts  and  improvements 
would  be  wanting  in  stimulus  and  ambition  ;  for  the 
world  is  moved  and  civilization  is  advanced  by  the 
silent  influence  of  woman. 

This  influence  is  due  not  exclusively  to  the  fasci- 
nation of  her  charms,  but  to  the  strength,  uniformity, 
and  consistency  of  her  virtues,  maintained  under  so 
many  sacrifices  and  with  so  much  fortitude  and  hero- 
ism. Without  these  endowments  and  qualifications, 
external  attractions  are  nothing ;  but  with  them,  their 
power  is  irresistible.  Beauty  and  virtue  are  the 
crowning  attributes  bestowed  by  nature  upon  woman, 
and  the  bounty  of  Heaven  more  than  compensates 
for  the  injustice  of  man.  The  possession  of  these 
advantages  secures  to  her  universally  that  degree 
of  homage  and  consideration  which  renders  her  inde- 
pendent of  the  effect  of  unequal  and  arbitrary  laws. 
But  it  is  not  the  incense  of  idol-worship  which  is  most 
acceptable  to  the  heart  of  woman ;  it  is  the  courtesy, 
and  just  appreciation  of  her  proper  position,  merit, 
and  character.  Woman  surpasses  man  in  the  quick- 
ness of  her  perception  and  in  the  right  direction  of 
her  sympathies  ;  and  thus  it  is  justly  due  to  her  praise 
that  the  credit  of  her  acknowledged  ascendency  is 
personal  amidst  the  increasing  degeneracy  of  man. 


WOMANHOOD.  85 

Woman  is  the  conservator  of  morality  and  re- 
ligion. Her  moral  worth  holds  man  in  some  restraint, 
and  preserves  his  ways  from  becoming'  inhumanly 
corrupt.  Mighty  is  the  power  of  woman  in  this  re- 
spect. Every  virtue  in  woman  has  its  influence  on 
the  world.  A  brother,  husband,  friend,  or  son  is 
touched  by  its  sunshine.  Its  mild  beneficence  is  not 
lost.  A  virtuous  woman  in  the  seclusion  of  her  home, 
breathing  the  sweet  influence  of  virtue  into  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  its  loved  ones,  is  an  evangel  of  goodness 
to  the  world.  She  is  a  pillar  of  the  external  kingdom 
of  right.  She  is  a  star,  shining  in  the  moral  firma- 
ment. She  is  a  priestess,  administering  at  the  fount- 
ain of  life.  Every  prayer  she  breathes  is  answered, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  the  hearts  and  lives 
of  those  she  loves.  Her  heart  is  an  altar-fire,  where 
religion  acquires  strength  to  go  out  on  its  mission 
of  mercy. 

We  can  not  overestimate  the  strength  and  power 
of  woman's  moral  and  religious  character.  The 
world  would  go  to  ruin  without  her.  With  all  our 
ministers  and  Churches,  and  Bibles  and  sermons, 
man  would  be  a  prodigal  without  the  restraint  of 
woman's  virtue  and  the  consecration  of  her  religion. 
Woman  first  lays  her  hand  on  our  young  faces  ;  she 
plants  the  first  seeds;  she  makes  the  first  impres- 
sions ;  and  all  along  through  life  she  scatters  the 
good  seeds  of  her  kindness,  and  sprinkles  them  with 
the  dews  of  her  piety. 

A  woman  of  true  intelligence  is  a  blessing  at 
home,  in  her  circle  of  friends,  and  in  society.  Wher 


8G  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ever  she  goes  she  carries  with  her  a  health-giving 
influence.  There  is  a  beautiful  harmony  about  her 
character  that  at  once  inspires  a  respect  which  soon 
warms  into  love.  The  influence  of  such  a  woman 
upon  society  is  of  the  most  salutary  kind.  She 
strengthens  right  principles  in  the  virtuous,  incites 
the  selfish  and  indifferent  to  good  actions,  and  gives 
to  the  light  and  frivolous  a  taste  after  something 
more  substantial  than  the  frothy  gossip  with  which 
they  seek  to  recreate  themselves. 

Many  a  woman  does  the  work  of  her  life  without 
being  noticed  or  seen  by  the  world.  The  world  sees 
a  family  reared  to  virtue,  one  child  after  another 
growing  into  Christian  manhood  or  womanhood,  and 
at  last  it  sees  them  gathered  around  the  grave  where 
the  mother  that  bore  them  rests  from  her  labors. 
But  the  world  has  never  seen  the  quiet  woman  labor- 
ing for  her  children,  making  their  clothes,  providing 
them  food,  teaching  them  their  prayers,  and  making 
their  homes  comfortable  and  happy. 

A  woman's  happiness  flows  to  her  from  sources 
and  through  channels  different  from  those  that  give 
origin  and  conduct  to  the  happiness  of  man,  and  in 
a  measure  will  continue  to  do  so  forever.  Her  fac- 
ulties bend  their  exercise  toward  different  issues,  her 
social  and  spiritual  notions  demand  a  different  ali- 
ment. Her  powers  are  eminently  practical.  She  has 
a  rich  store  of  practical  good  sense,  an  ample  fund 
of  tact,  skill,  shrewdness,  inventiveness,  and  manage- 
ment. It  is  her  work  to  form  the  young  mind,  to 
give  it  direction  and  instruction,  to  develop  its  love 


WOVAXHOOD.  87 

for  the  good  and  true.  It  is  her  work  to  make  home 
happy,  to  nourish  all  the  virtues,  and  instill  all  the 
sweetness  which  builds  men  up  into  good  citizens. 
She  is  the  consoler  of  the  world,  attending  it  in  sick- 
ness ;  her  society  soothes  the  world  after  its  toils; 
and  rewards  it  for  its  perplexities.  They  receive  the 
infant  when  it  enters  upon  its  existence,  and  drape 
the  cold  form  of  the  aged  when  life  is  passed.  They 
assuage  the  sorrows  of  childhood,  and  minister  to 
the  poor  and  distressed. 

Loveliness  of  spirit  is  woman's  scepter  and  sword ; 
for  it  is  both  the.  emblem  and  the  instrument  of  her 
conquest.  Her  influence  flows  from  her  sensibilities, 
her  gentleness,  and  her  tenderness.  It  is  this  which 
disarms  prejudice,  and  awakens  confidence  and  affec- 
tion in  all  who  come  within  her  sphere,  which  makes 
her  more  powerful  to  accomplish  what  her  will  has 
resolved  than  if  nature  had  endowed  her  with  the 
strength  of  a  giant.  As  a  wife  and  mother,  woman 
is  seen  in  her  most  sacred  and  dignified  aspect.  As 
such  she  has  great  influence  over  the  characters  of 
individuals,  over  the  condition  of  families,  and  over 
the  destinies  of  empires. 

How  transitory  are  the  days  of  girlhood !  The 
time  when  the  cheerful  smile,  the  merry  laugh,  and 
the  exulting  voice  were  so  many  expressions  of 
happiness, — how  quickly  it  passed!  How  time  has 
multiplied  its  scores,  and  accumulated  its  unwel- 
come effects  against  the  charms  and  attractions  of 
youth  !  But  if  the  heart  be  chilled,  if  the  cheek  be 
more  pale,  and  the  eye  less  bright ;  if  the  outward 


88  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

adornment  of  the  temple  of  love  have  become  faded 
and  dimmed,  there  may  be  yet  inwardly  preserved 
the  shrine  where  is  laid  up  the  sacred  treasures  of 
loveliness  and  purity,  gentleness  and  grace,  the  at- 
tempered qualities  of  tried  and  perfected  virtues  :  ar 
if  the  blossoms  of  early  childhood  had  ripened  into 
the  mellow  and  precious  fruits  of  autumnal  time. 

But  in  another  and  better  sense  a  good  woman 
never  grows  old.  Years  may  pass  over  her  head, 
but  if  benevolence  and  virtue  dwell  in  her  heart  she 
is  as  cheerful  as  when  the  spring  of  life  first  opened 
to  her  view.  When  we  look  at  a  good  woman  we 
never  think  of  her  age  ;  she  looks  as  happy  as  when 
the  rose  first  bloomed  on  her  cheek.  In  her  neigh- 
borhood she  is  a  friend  and  benefactor;  in  the  Church, 
the  devout  worshiper  and  exemplary  Christian.  Who 
does  not  love  and  respect  the  woman  who  has  spent 
her  days  in  acts  of  kindness  and  mercy,  who  has 
been  the  friend  of  sorrowing  ones,  whose  life  has 
been  a  scene  of  kindness  and  love,  devotion  to  truth 
and  religion.  Such  a  woman  can  not  grow  old  ;  she 
will  always  be  fresh  and  beautiful  in  her  spirits  and 
active  in  her  humble  deeds  of  mercy  and  benevolence. 

If  the  young  lady  desires  to  retain  the  bloom  and 
beauty  of  youth,  let  her  not  yield  to  the  way  of  fash- 
ion and  folly ;  let  her  love  truth  and  virtue  ;  and  to 
the  close  of  her  life  will  she  retain  those  feelings 
which  now  make  life  appear  a  garden  of  sweets  ever 
fresh  and  green. 


HOME  HARMONIES.  89 


\N  there  be  a  more  important  theme  to  claim 
the  attention  of  thinking  parents  than  that  of 
home  harmonies,  how  to  make  the  home  life  so 
pleasant  and  full  of  kindly  courtesy  that  its  mem- 
bers will  look  to  it  as  the  pleasantest  spot  on  earth, 
and  find  their  highest  enjoyment  in  advancing  the 
innocent  pleasures  of  home?  Is  it  not  the  duty  of 
parents  to  make  their  homes  as  pleasant  as  they 
possibly  can  for  their  children  and  their  mates? 
Should  they  not  strive  to  have  them  resound  with 
the  fun  and  frolic  of  childhood,  and  enlivened  with 
the  cheerfulness  of  happy  social  life  ?  For  too  many 
homes  are  like  the  frame  of  a  harp  that  stands 
without  strings.  In  form  and  outline  they  suggest 
music,  but  no  melody  arises  from  the  empty  spaces  ; 
and  thus  it  happens  that  home  is  unattractive,  dreary, 
and  dull. 

And  do  you,  fathers  and  mothers,  you  who 
have  sons  and  daughters  growing  up  around  you,  do 
you  ever  think  of  your  responsibility  of  keeping  alive 
the  home  feeling  in  the  hearts  of  your  children  ?  Re- 
member that  within  your  means  the  obligation  rests 
upon  you  of  making  their  homes  the  pleasantest  spot 
on  earth,  to  make  the  word  home  to  them  the  synonym 
of  happiness.  Go  to  as  great  length  as  you  consist- 
ently can  to  provide  for  them  those  amusements, 
which,  if  not  provided  there,  entice  them  elsewhere. 
You  had  better  spend  your  money  thus  than  in  osten- 


90  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

tation  and  luxury,  and  far  better  than  to  amass  a  fon 
tune  for  your  children  to  spend  in  the  future.  The 
richest  legacy  you  can  leave  your  child  is  a  life-long, 
inextinguishable,  and  fragrant  recollection  of  home 
when  time  and  death  have  forever  dissolved  the  en 
chantment. 

Give  him  that,  and  on  the  strength  of  that  will  he 
make  his  way  in  the  world  ;  but  let  his  recollection 
of  home  be  repulsive,  and  the  fortune  you  may  leave 
him  will  be  a  poor  compensation  for  the  loss  of  that 
tenderness  of  heart  and  purity  of  life,  which  not  only 
a  pleasant  home,  but  the  memory  of  one  would  have 
secured.  Remember,  also,  that  while  they  will  feel 
grateful  to  you  for  the  money  you  may  leave  them, 
and  will  think  of  you  when  gone,  they  will  go  to  your 
green  graves  and  bless  your  very  ashes  for  that  sanc- 
tuary of  quiet  comfort  and  refinement,  to  which  you 
may,  if  you  possess  the  means,  transform  your  home. 
The  memory  of  the  beautiful  and  happy  homes  of 
childhood  will  in  after  years  come  to  the  weary  mind 
like  strains  of  low,  sweet  music,  and  in  its  silent  influ- 
ence for  good  will  prove  of  infinite  more  value  than 
houses,  stocks,  and  money. 

Too  frequently  the  effect  of  prosperity  is  to  render 
the  heart  cold  and  selfish  ;  but  the  heart  will  never 
forget  the  hallowed  influence  of  happy  home  memo- 
ries. It  will  be  an  evening  enjoyment  to  which  the 
lapse  of  years  wil!  only  add  new  sweetness.  Such  a 
home  memory  is  a  constant  inspiration  for  good,  and 
as  constant  a  restraint  from  evil.  A  constant  en- 
deavor should  be  made  to  render  every  home  cheerful. 


HOME  HARMONIES.  91 

innocent  joy  should  reign  in  every  heart.  There 
should  be  found  domestic  amusements,  fireside  pleas- 
ures, quiet  and  simple  they  may  be,  but  such  as  shall 
make  home  happy,  and  not  leave  it  that  irksome 
olace  that  will  oblige  the  youthful  spirit  to  look  else- 
where for  joy. 

There  are  a  thousand  unobtrusive  ways  in  which 
we  may  add  to  the  cheerfulness  of  home.  The  very 
modulations  of  the  voice  will  often  make  a  wonderful 
difference.  How  many  shades  of  feeling  are  ex- 
pressed by  the  voice !  What  a  change  comes  over 
us  by  a  change  of  tones  !  No  delicately  tuned  harp- 
string  can  awaken  more  pleasures,  no  grating  discord 
can  pierce  with  more  pain.  It  is  practicable  to  make 
home  so  delightful  that  children  shall  have  no  disposi- 
tion to  wander  from  it  or  prefer  any  other  place.  It 
is  possible  to  make  it  so  attractive  that  it  shall  not 
only  firmly  hold  its  own  loved  ones,  but  shall  draw 
others  into  its  cheerful  circle.  Let  the  house  all  day 
long  be  the  scene  of  pleasant  looks,  pleasant  words, 
kind  and  affectionate  acts ;  let  the  table  be  the  happy* 
eating-place  of  a  merry  group,  and  not  simply  a  dull 
board  where  the  members  come  to  eat.  Let  the 
sitting-room  at  evening  be  the  place  where  a  merry 
company  settle  themselves  to  books  and  games,  till 
the  round  of  good-night  kisses  are  in  order.  Let 
there  be  some  music  in  the  household,  not  kept  to 
show  to  company,  but  music  in  which  all  can  join. 
Let  the  young  companions  be  welcomed  and  made  for 
the  time  a  part  of  the  group.  In  a  word,  let  the 
home  be  surrounded  by  an  air  of  cozy  and  cheerful 


92  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

good-will.  Then  children  will  not  be  exhorted  to  love 
it;  you  will  not  be  able  to  tempt  them  away  from  it. 

To  the  man  of  business  home  should  be  an  earthly 
paradise,  to  the  embellishment  of  which  his  leisure 
time  and  thoughts  might  well  be  devoted.  Life  is 
certainly  a  pleasanter  thing  if  the  inevitable  daily 
drudgery  be  relieved  by  a  little  lightness,  brightness, 
and  intelligent  enjoyment.  The  craving  for  amuse- 
ment is  a  natural  one,  and  within  proper  bounds  it 
ought  to  be  gratified.  And  there  is  surely  no  better 
entertainment  for  the  spare  hours  of  an  intelligent 
man  than  the  embellishment  of  his  home,  so  that  it 
will  be  an  agreeable  place  for  himself  and  his  family 
to  dwell  in,  and  for  his  friends  to  visit.  He  may  be 
assured  that  his  children  as  they  grow  up  will  become 
better  men  and  women,  and  more  useful  members  of 
society,  if  they  live  in  a  home  which  is  itself  a  work 
of  art,  and  in  w4iich  they  are  surrounded  by  objects 
stimulative  to  the  intellect,  the  imagination,  and  to  all 
the  better  feelings  of  their  natures. 

This  making  home  a  work  of  art  is  not  a  piece  of 
sentimentalism,  but  it  is  one  which  ought  to  address 
itself  in  the  strongest  manner  to  the  minds  of  all 
practical  people.  There  is  nothing  better  worthy  of 
adornment  than  the  house  we  live  in  ;  and  a  home 
arranged  and  fitted  up  with  taste  will  be  better  cared 
for,  it  will  beget  habits  of  greater  neatness,  it  will 
inspire  nobler  thoughts,  it  will  exert  a  pleasanter 
influence,  not  only  on  its  inmates,  but  on  the 
whole  neighborhood,  than  one  fitted  with  the  cost- 
liest objects  selected  with  indiscrimination,  without 


HOME  HARMONIES.  93 

plan,    and   merely  for   the    purpose   of  ostentatious 
display. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  is  sure  to  be  content- 
ment in  a  home  in  the  windows  of  which  can  be  seen 
birds  and  flowers,  and  it  may  also  be  said  that  there 
will  be  the  same  conditions  wherever  there  are  pic 
tures  on  the  walls.  A  room  without  pictures  is  like 
a  room  without  windows.  Pictures  are  loop-holes  of 
escape  to  the  soul,  leading  to  other  scenes  and  other 
spheres.  They  are  consolers  of  loneliness,  they  are 
books,  they  are  histories  and  sermons  which  we  can 
read  without  turning  over  the  leaves.  The  sweet 
influence  of  flowers  is  no  less  than  that  of  paintings. 
At  all  seasons  of  the  year  they  are  gladly  welcomed. 
They  are  emblematic  of  both  the  joys  and  sorrows  of 
life,  and  religion  has  associated  them  with  the  highest 
spiritual  verities.  Faded  though  they  may  sometimes 
be,  they  have  the  power  to  wake  the  chords  of  mem- 
ory and  make  us  children  again.  At  the  sick-bed 
and  marriage  feast,  on  altar  and  cathedral  walls  they 
have  a  meaning,  and  the  humblest  home  looks  brighter 
where  they  bloom. 

Many  a  child  goes  astray,  not  because  there  is  a 
want  of  prayers  or  virtue  at  home,  but  simply  because 
home  lacks  sunshine.  A  child  needs  smiles  as  much 
as  flowers  sunbeams.  Children  look  little  beyond 
the  present  moment.  If  a  thing  pleases  them  they 
are  apt  to  seek  it,  if  it  displeases  they  are  prone 
to  avoid  it.  Children  are  great  imitators,  and  are 
never  so  happy  as  when  trying  to  do  what  they  see 
other  people  do.  Their  plays  consist  in  copying  ac- 


94  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

tual  affairs  of  the  older  ones,  and  these  amusements 
often  really  prepare  the  children  for  the  actual  busi- 
ness of  life,  so  that  they  may  sooner  become  helpful 
to  their  parents.  They  should  be  watched  and  en- 
couraged, therefore,  in  their  plays  to  habits  of  thought- 
fulness  and  self-reliance.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  games 
of  skill,  which  shall  try  the  wit  and  patience  of  both 
parents  and  children,  will  become  the  fashion  of  the 
times,  until  every  home  in  the  land  shall  be  supplied 
with  these  accessories  of  pleasure,  until  every  child 
shall  have  in  his  father's  house,  be  it  humble  or 
costly,  such  appliances  and  helps  for  his  entertain- 
ment that  he  shall  find  his  amusements  under  his 
father's  roof  and  in  his  father's  presence. 

Among  home  amusements  the  best  is  the  good 
old  habit  of  conversation,  the  talking  over  the  events 
of  the  day  in  bright  and  quick  play  of  wit  and  fancy, 
the  story  which  brings  the  laugh,  and  the  speaking 
the  good,  kind,  and  true  things  which  all  have  in  their 
hearts.  Conversation  is  the  sunshine  of  the  mind, 
an  intellectual  orchestra  where  all  the  instruments 
should  bear  a  part.  Cultivate  singing  in  the  family. 
The  songs  and  hymns  your  childhood  sung,  bring 
them  all  back  to  your  memory,  and  teach  them  tc 
the  little  ones.  Mix  them  all  together,  to  meet  the 
varying  moods  as,  in  after  life,  they  come  over  us  so 
mysteriously.  Is  it  not  singular  what  trifles  some- 
times serve  to  wake  the  memories  of  youth  ?  And 
what  more  often  than  snatches  of  olden  songs  not 
heard  for  many  years,  but  which  used  to  come  from 
lips  now  closed  forever  ?  Thus  the  home  songs  not 


HOME  HARMONIES.  95 

•only  serve  to  make  the  present  home  life  happy  and 
agreeable,  but  the  very  memory  of  it  will  serve  as  a 
shield  of  defense  in  times  of  trial  and  temptation. 
At  times,  amid  the  crushing"  mishaps  of  business,  a 
song  of  the  olden  time  breaks  in  upon  the  weary 
uhoughts  and  guides  the  mind  into  another  channel — 
light  breaks  from  behind  the  cloud  in  the  sky,  and 
new  courage  is  given  us. 

Parents  do  well  to  study  the  character  of  the 
younger  ones.  The  majority  of  parents  do  not  un- 
derstand their  children.  They  are  kept  under  re- 
straint, and  are  not  properly  developed ;  they  live  a 
life  of  fear  rather  than  of  love,  which  should  not  be. 
Home  should  be  the  bright  sanctuary  of  our  hearts, 
the  repository  of  all  our  thoughts  Have  confidence 
in  each  other,  and  the  seeds  properly  sown  will  spring 
forth  with  fruits  that  will  bud  and  blossom,  but  never 
die.  What  is  comparable  to  a  well  regulated,  happy 
home?  It  is  our  heaven  below,  where  each  thought 
will  vibrate  in  perfect  unison. 

In  the  great  majority  of  cases  it  will  be  found  that 
the  frequenters  of  saloons  and  places  of  low  resort 
have  not  pleasant  homes.  It  should  be  the  duty  of 
all  to  strive  to  make  home  so  happy  that  each  even- 
ing will  furnish  pleasant  memories  to  lighten  the  load 
of  another  day.  Make  it  so  happy  that  you  do  not 
tire  of  it,  but  long  for  the  hour  when  your  day's  toil 
is  over,  and  you  desire  to  reach  it  as  the  happiest  and 
dearest  place  on  earth.  Parents  should  more  ear- 
nestly consider  the  importance  of  home  culture,  home 
happiness,  home  love.  The  latter  should  be  the  rul- 


96  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ing  element,  for  all  the  household  is  moved  by  ine 
surrounding  influences,  and  when  a  spirit  of  love 
broods  over  the  household,  how  kind,  gentle,  and 
considerate  do  all  its  members  become ! 

There  are  some  persons  who  apparently  live  more 
for  the  admiration  of  others  than  for  their  own  house- 
hold, and  have  a  smile  for  all  but  those  who  should  be 
the  nearest  and  dearest.  This  is  almost  criminally 
wrong ;  they  could  take  no  surer  course  to  make  a 
complete  wreck  of  their  own  happiness  and  the  home 
happiness.  Whatever  vexatious  troubles  parents 
meet  in  their  daily  life,  it  is  their  duty  no  less  than  it 
should  be  their  chief  pleasure  to  strive,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, to  throw  around  the  home  an  atmosphere  of  joy 
and  happiness,  to  make  home  the  dearest  spot  on 
earth,  so  that  when,  with  the  passage  of  years,  the 
children  go  from  thence  to  new  and  untried  scenes, 
the  memory  of  home  will  bring  to  the  heart  a  thrill 
of  joyful  recollections,  and  thus  give  them  a  new  cour- 
age to  take  up  the  burden  of  life. 


HOME  DUTIES.  97 


"And  say  to  mothers  what  a  holy  charge 
/s  theirs;  with  what  a  kingly  power  their  love 
Might  rule  the  fountains  of  the  new-born  mind; 
Warn  them  to  wake  at  early  dawn  and  sow 
Good  seed  before  the  world  has  sown  its  tares." 

— MRS.  SIGOURNEY. 

r 

UTY  embraces  man's  whole  existence.  It  begins 
in  the  home,  where  there  is  the  duty  which 
children  owe  to  their  parents  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  duty  which  parents  owe  their  children 
on  the  other.  There  surely  can  be  no  more  important 
duties  to  ponder  over  long  and  earnestly  than  those 
relating  to  the  home,  the  duty  of  patience,  of  courtesy 
one  to  the  other,  the  interest  in  each  other's  welfare, 
the  duty  of  self-control,  of  learning  to  bear  and  forbear. 
One  danger  of  home  life  springs  from  its  famil- 
iarity. Kindred  hearts  at  a  common  fireside  are  far 
too  apt  to  relax  from  the  proprieties  of  social  life. 
Careless  language  and  careless  attire  are  too  apt 
to  be  indulged  In  when  the  eye  of  the  world  is 
shut  off,  the  ear  of  the  world  can  not  hear.  There 
should  be  no  stiffness  of  family  etiquette,  no  stern- 
ness of  family  discipline,  like  that  which  prevailed  in 
olden  times — the  day  for  that  is  passed.  But  the 
day  -for  thorough  civility  and  courtesy  among  the 
members  of  a  home,  the  day  for  careful  propriety  of 
dress  and  address,  will  never  pass  away.  It  is  here 
that  the  truest  and  most  faultless  social  life  is  to  be 
lived ;  it  is  here  that  such  a  life  is  to  be  learned.  A 

7 


98  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

home  in  which  true  courtesy  and  politeness  reigns  is 
a  home  from  which  polite  men  and  women  go  forth, 
and  they  go  out  directly  from  no  other.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  it  is  at  home,  in  the  family,  and 
among  kindred,  that  an  every-day  politeness  of  man 
ner  is  really  most  to  be  prized  ;  there  it  confers  sub 
stantial  benefits  and  brings  the  sweetest  returns. 
The  little  attentions  which  members  of  the  same 
household  may  show  towards  one  another,  day  by- 
day,  belong  to  what  is  styled  "good  manners." 
There  can  not  be  any  ingrained  gentility  which  does 
not  exhibit  itself  first  at  home. 

Children  should  be  trained  to  behave  at  home  as 
you  would  have  them  behave  abroad.  It  is  the  home 
life  which  they  act  out  when  away.  If  this  is  rude, 
gruff,  and  lacking  in  civility,  they  will  be  lacking  in 
all  that  constitutes  true  refinement,  and  thus  most 
painfully  reflect  on  the  home  training  when  in  the 
presence  of  strangers.  In  the  actions  of  children 
strangers  can  read  a  history  of  the  home  life.  It 
tells  of  duty  undone,  of  turmoil  and  strife,  of  fretful 
women  and  impatient  men  ;  or,  it  speaks  of  a  home 
of  love  and  peace,  where  patience  sits  enthroned  in 
the  hearts  of  all  its  members,  and  each  is  mindful  of 
his  or  her  duty  towards  the  other. 

Let  the  wives  and  daughters  of  business  men 
think  of  the  toils,  the  anxieties,  the  mortification  and 
wear  that  fathers  undergo  to  secure  for  them  com- 
fortable homes.  Is  it  not  their  duty  to  compensate 
them  for  these  trials  by  making  them  happy  at  their 
own  fireside?  Happy  is  he  who  can  find  solace  and 


HOME  DUTIES.  99 

comfort  at  home.  And  husbands,  too,  do  not  think 
enough  of  the  thousand  trials  and  petty,  vexatious 
nicidents  of  the  daily  home  life  to  which  wives  are 
subject.  True,  they  themselves  feel  the  harassing 
incidents  of  business,  which  may  be  of  more  imme- 
diate importance  than  the  cares  of  home.  But  one 
large  worry  is  preferable  to  many  small  ones.  Thus 
it  is  the  duty  of  each  to  remember  these  facts,  and 
strive  to  make  the  home  life  happy  by  mutual  self- 
sacrifice. 

Something  is  wrong  in  those  homes  where  the 
little  courtesies  of  speech  are  ignored  in  the  every- 
day home  life.  When  the  family  gather  alone  around 
the  breakfast  or  dinner  table  the  same  courtesy 
should  prevail  as  if  guests  were  present.  Reproof, 
complaint,  unpleasant  discussion,  and  sarcasm,  no 
less  than  moody  silence,  should  be  banished.  Let 
the  conversation  be  genial  and  suited  to  the  little 
folks  as  far  as  possible.  Interesting  incidents  of  the 
day's  experience  may  be  mentioned  at  the  evening 
meal,  thus  arousing  the  social  element.  If  resources 
fail  sometimes  little  extracts  read  from  evening  or 
morning  papers  will  kindle  the  conversation.  Scold- 
ing is  never  allowable;  reproof  and  criticism  from 
parents  must  have  their  time  and  place,  but  should 
never  intrude  so  far  upon  the  social  life  of  the  family 
as  to  render  the  home  uncomfortable.  A  serious 
word  in  private  will  generally  cure  a  fault  more 
easily  than  many  public  criticisms.  In  some  families 
a  spirit  of  contradiction  and  discussion  mars  the 
harmony ;  every  statement  is,  as  it  were,  dissected, 


100  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

aind  the  absolute  correctness  of  every  word  caicu* 
lated.  It  interferes  seriously  with  social  freedom 
where  unimportant  social  inaccuracies  are  watched 
for  and  exposed  for  the  sake  of  exposure. 

Never  think  any  thing  which  affects  the  happiness 
of  your  children  too  small  a  matter  to  claim  youi 
attention,  Use  every  means  in  your  power  to  win 
and  retain  their  confidence.  Do  not  rest  satisfied 
without  some  account  of  each  day's  joys  or  sorrows. 
It  is  a  source  of  great  comfort  to  the  innocent  child 
to  tell  all  its  troubles  to  mother,  and  the  mother 
should  haste  to  lend  a  willing  ear.  Soothe  and  quiet 
its  little  heart  after  the  experience  of  the  day.  It 
has  had  its  disappointments  and  trials,  as  well  as  its 
plays  and  pleasures ;  it  is  ready  to  throw  its  arms 
around  the  mother's  neck,  and  forgetting  the  one 
live  again  the  other.  Always  send  the  little  child  to 
bed  happy.  Whatever  cares  may  trouble  your  mind 
give  the  little  one  a  good-night  kiss  as  it  goes  to  its 
pillow.  The  memory  of  this  in  the  stormy  years 
which  may  be  in  store  for  it  will  be  like  Bethlehem's 
rftar  to  the  bewildered  shepherd,  and  the  heart  will 
receive  a  fresh  inspiration  of  courage  at  the  thrill  of 
youthful  memories. 

The  domestic  fireside  is  a  seminary  of  infinite 
importance.  It  is  important  because  it  is  universal, 
and  because  the  education  it  bestows,  woven  with  the 
woof  of  childhood,  gives  color  to  the  whole  texture 
of  life.  Early  impressions  are  not  easily  erased  ;  the 
virgin  wax  is  faithful  to  the  signet,  and  subsequent 
impressions  serve  rather  to  indent  the  former  one. 


HOME  DUTIES.  101 

There  are  but  few  who  can  receive  the  honors  of  a 
college  education,  but  all  are  graduates  of  the  heart. 
The  learning  of  the  university  may  fade  from  recollec- 
tion, its  classic  lore  may  be  lost  from  the  halls  of 
memory ;  but  the  simple  lessons  of  home,  enameled 
upon  the  heart  of  childhood,  defy  the  rust  of  years, 
and  outlive  the  more  mature  but  less  vivid  pictures 
of  after  days.  So  deep,  so  lasting  are  the  impres- 
sions of  early  life  that  you  often  see  a  man  in  the 
imbecility  of  age  holding  fresh  in  his  recollection  the 
events  of  childhood,  while  all  the  wide  space  between 
that  and  the  present  hour  is  a  forgotten  waste. 

Those  parents  act  most  wisely  who  have  fore- 
thought enough  to  provide  not  only  for  the  youth, 
but  for  the  age  of  their  offspring;  who  teach  them 
usefulness,  and  not  to  expect  too  much  from  the 
world  ;  to  become  early  familiarized  with  the  stern 
and  actual  realities  of  life,  and  never  to  be  apes  of 
fashion  nor  parasites  of  greatness.  Parents,  then, 
should  educate  their  children  not  merely  in  scholastic 
acquirements,  but  in  a  knowledge  of  the  respective 
positions  they  are  to  occupy  when  they  become  men 
and  women.  Educate  them  to  the  duties  that  the 
world  will  require  of  them  when  they  arrive  at  that 
long  looked  for  period  when  they  will  have  reached 
maturity,  and  enter  into  the  game  that  every  person 
must  play  during  his  existence  in  the  world.  Edu- 
cate the  girl  to  the  intricate  duties  that  will  be  re- 
quired of  her  as  a  wife  and  mother,  and  to  the 
position  she  is  to  occupy  in  society,  and  that  it  rests 
with  herself  whether  it  shall  be  exalted  or  whether 


102  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

it  shall  be  debased  and  lowly.  Educate  the  boy  to 
a  knowledge  of  what  the  busy  world  will  require  of 
him;  teach  him  self-reliance  and  all  manly  attributes. 

A  knowledge  of  the  world  is  more  than  necessary 
to  enable  us  to  live  in  it  wisely,  and  this  knowledge 
should  commence  in  the  nursery.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  largest  and  most  important  part  of 
the  education  of  children,  whether  for  good  or  evil, 
is  carried  on  at  home,  often  unconsciously  in  their 
amusements,  and  under  the  daily  influence  of  what 
they  see  and  hear  about  them.  It  is  there  that 
subtle  brains  and  lissome  fingers  find  scope  and  learn 
to  promote  the  well-being  of  the  community.  One 
can  not  tell  what  duties  their  children  may  be  called 
to  perform  in  after  life.  They  must  teach  them  to 
cultivate  their  faculties,  and  to  exercise  all  their 
senses  to  choose  the  good  and  refuse  the  evil. 

Above  all  things,  teach  children  what  life  is.  It 
is  not  simply  breathing  and  moving.  Life  is  a  battle, 
and  all  thoughtful  people  see  it  so, — a  battle  be- 
tween good  and  evil  from  childhood.  Good  influence 
drawing  us  up  toward  the  divine,  bad  influence  draw- 
ing us  down  to  the  brute.  Teach  children  that  they 
lead  two  lives,  the  life  without  and  the  life  within; 
that  the  inside  must  be  pure  in  the  sight  of  God,  as 
well  as  the  outside  in  the  sight  of  man.  Educate 
them,  then,  to  love  the  good  and  true,  and  remem- 
ber that  every  word  spoken  within  the  hearing  of 
little  children  tends  toward  the  formation  of  character. 
Teach  little  children  to  love  the  beautiful.  If  you 
are  able,  give  them  a  corner  in  the  garden  for  flow- 


HOME  DUTIES.  103 

ers,  allow  them  to  have  their  favorite  trees.  Teach 
them  to  wander  in  the  prettiest  woodlets,  show  them 
where  they  best  can  view  the  sunset.  Buy  them 
pictures,  and  encourage  them  to  deck  their  rooms  in 
their  childish  way.  Thus  may  the  mother  weave  into 
the  life  of  her  children  thoughts  and  feelings,  rich, 
beautiful,  grand,  and  noble,  which  will  make  all  after 
life  brighter  and  better. 

The  duties  of  children  to  parents  are  far  too  little 
considered.  As  the  children  grow  up  the  parents 
lean  on  them  much  earlier  than  either  imagine.  In 
the  passage  of  years  the  children  gain  experience 
and  strength.  But  with  the  parents !  The  cares  of 
a  long  life  bow  the  form,  and  the  strong  are  again 
made  weak.  It  is  now  that  the  duties  of  children 
assume  their  grandest  forms.  It  is  not  sufficient  to 
simply  give  them  a  home  to  make  their  declining 
years  comfortable.  While  supplying  their  physical 
wants,  their  hearts  may  be  famishing  for  some  expres- 
sion of  love  from  you.  If  you  think  they  have  out- 
grown these  desires,  you  are  mistaken.  Every  little 
attention  you  can  show  your  mother — your  escort  to 
Church  or  concert,  or  for  a  quiet  walk — brings  back 
the  youth  of  her  heart ;  her  cheeks  glow  with  pleasure, 
and  she  feels  happy  for  such  a  dutiful  son.  The 
father,  occupied  and  absorbed  as  he  may  be,  is  not 
wholly  indifferent  to  the  filial  expressions  of  devoted 
love.  He  may  pretend  to  care  but  very  little  for 
them  ;  but,  having  faith  in  their  sincerity,  it  would 
give  him  pain  were  they  entirely  withheld.  Fathers 
need  their  sons  quite  as  much  as  the  sons  need  the 


104  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

fathers ;  but  in  how  many  deplorable  instances  do 
they  fail  to  find  in  them  a  staff  for  their  declining 
years  ! 

You  may  disappoint  the  ambition  of  your  parents^ 
you  may  be  unable  to  distinguish  yourself  as  yoi 
fondly  hoped ;  but  let  this  not  swerve  you  from  a  de 
termination  to  be  a  son  of  whose  moral  character  they 
need  never  be  ashamed.  Begin  early  to  cultivate  a 
habit  of  thoughtfulness  and  consideration  for  others, 
especially  for  those  you  are  commanded  to  honor. 
Can  you  begrudge  a  few  extra  steps  for  the  mother  who 
never  stopped  to  number  those  you  demanded  during 
your  helpless  infancy?  Have  you  the  heart  to  slight 
her  requests  or  treat  her  remarks  with  indifference, 
when  you  can  not  begin  to  measure  the  patient  devo- 
tion with  which  she  bore  your  peculiarities?  Antici- 
pate her  wants,  invite  her  confidence,  be  prompt  to 
offer  assistance,  express  your  affections  as  heartily 
as  you  did  when  a  child,  that  the  mother  may  never 
have  occasion  to  grieve  in  secret  for  the  child  she 
has  lost. 


jT  is  the  aim  that  makes  the  man,  and  without  this 
he  is  nothing  as  far  as  the  utter  destitution  of 
force,  weight,  and  even  individuality  among  men 
can  reduce  him  to  nonentity.  The  strong  gusts 
and  currents  of  the  world  sweep  him  this  way  and 
that,  without  steam  or  sail  to  impel,  or  helm  to  guide 


AIM  OF  LIFE.  105 

him.  If  he  be  not  speedily  wrecked  or  run  aground, 
it  is  more  his  good  fortune  than  good  management. 
We  have  never  heard  a  more  touching  confession  of 
utter  weakness  and  misery  than  these  words  from 
one  singularly  blessed  with  the  endowments  of  nature 
and  of  Providence :  "  My  life  is  aimless." 

Take  heed,  young  man,  of  an  aimless  life.  Take 
heed,  too,  of  a  low  and  sordid  aim.  A  well-ascer- 
tained and  generous  purpose  gives  vigor,  direction, 
and  perseverance  to  all  man's  efforts.  Its  concomi- 
tants are  a  well-disciplined  intellect,  character,  influ- 
ence, tranquillity,  and  cheerfulness  within — success 
and  honor  without.  Whatever  a  man's  talents  and 
advantages  may  be,  with  no  aim,  or  a  low  one,  he  is 
weak  and  despicable  ;  and  he  can  not  be  otherwise 
than  respectable  and  influential  with  a  high  one. 
Without  some  definite  object  before  us,  some  stand- 
ard which  we  are  earnestly  striving  to  reach,  we  can 
not  expect  to  attain  to  any  great  height,  either  men- 
tally or  morally.  Placing  for  ourselves  high  stand- 
ards, and  wishing  to  reach  them  without  any  further 
effort  on  our  part,  is  not  enough  to  elevate  us  in  any 
very  great  degree. 

Some,  one  has  said,  "Nature  holds  for  each  of  us 
all  that  we  need  to  make  us  useful  and  happy  ;  but 
she  requires  us  to  labor  for  all  that  we  get."  God 
gives  nothing  of  value  unto  man  unmatched  by  need 
of  labor  ;  and  we  can  expect  to  overcome  difficulties 
only  by  strong  and  determined  efforts.  Here  is  a 
great  and  noble  work  lying  just  before  us,  just  as 
the  blue  ocean  lies  out  beyond  the  rocks  which  line 


106  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

the  shore.  In  our  strivings  for  "something  better 
than  we  have  known"  we  should  work  for  others' 
good  rather  than  our  own  pleasure.  Those  whose 
object  in  life  is  their  own  happiness  find  at  last  that 
their  lives  are  sad  failures. 

We  need  to  do  something  each  day  that  shall 
help  us  to  a  larger  life  of  soul ;  and  every  word  or 
deed  which  brings  joy  or  gladness  to  other  hearts 
lifts  us  nearer  a  perfect  life  ;  for  a  noble  deed  is  a 
step  toward  God.  To  live  for  something  worthy  of 
life  involves  the  necessity  of  an  intelligent  and  defi- 
nite plan  of  action.  More  than  splendid  dreamings 
or  magnificent  resolves  is  necessary  to  success  in  the 
objects  and  ambitions  of  life.  Men  come  to  the  best 
results  in  every  department  of  effort  only  as  they 
thoughtfully  plan  and  earnestly  toil  in  given  direc- 
tions. Purposes  without  work  is  dead.  It  were  vain 
to  hope  for  good  results  from  mere  plans.  Random 
or  spasmodic  efforts,  like  aimless  shoots,  are  gener- 
ally no  better  than  wasted  time  or  strength.  The 
purposes  of  shrewd  men  in  the  business  of  this  life 
are  always  followed  by  careful  plans,  enforced  by 
work.  Whether  the  object  is  learning,  honor,  or 
wealth,  the  ways  and  means  are  always  laid  out  ac- 
cording to  the  best  rules  and  methods.  The  mariner 
has  his  chart,  the  architect  his  plans,  the  sculptor  his 
model,  and  all  as  a  means  and  condition  of  success. 
Inventive  genius,  or  even  what  is  called  inspiration, 
can  do  little  in  any  department  of  the  theoretic  or 
practical  science  except  as  it  works  by  a  well-formed 
plan ;  then  every  step  is  an  advance  towards  the 


AIM  OF  LIFK  107 

accomplishment  of  its  object.  Every  tack  of  the  ship 
made  in  accordance  with  nautical  law  keeps  her 
steadily  nearing  the  port.  Each  stroke  of  the  chisel 
brings  the  marble  into  a  clearer  likeness  to  the 
model.  No  effort  or  time  is  lost ;  for  nothing  is  done 
rashly  or  at  random. 

Thus,  in  the  grand  aim  of  life,  if  some  worthy 
purpose  be  kept  constantly  in  view,  and  for  its  accom- 
plishment every  effort  be  made  every  day  of  your  life, 
you  will,  unconsciously,  perhaps,  approach  the  goal  of 
your  ambition.  There  can  be  no  question  among  the 
philosophic  observers  of  men  and  events  that  fixed- 
ness of  purpose  is  a  grand  element  of  human  success. 
When  a  man  has  formed  in  his  mind  a  great  sover- 
eign purpose,  it  governs  his  conduct  as  the  laws  of 
nature  govern  the  operation  of  physical  things. 

Every  one  should  have  a  mark  in  view,  and  pur- 
sue it  steadily.  He  should  not  be  turned  from  his 
course  by  other  objects  ever  so  attractive.  Life  is 
not  long  enough  for  any  one  man  to  accomplish  every 
thing.  Indeed,  but  few  can  at  best  accomplish  more 
than  one  thing  well.  Many — alas  !  very  many — ac- 
complish nothing.  Yet  there  is  not  a  man,  endowed 
with  ordinary  intellect  or  accomplishments,  but  can 
accomplish  at  least  one  useful,  important,  worthy 
purpose.  It  was  not  without  reason  that  some  of 
the  greatest  of  men  were  trained  from  their  youth  to 
choose  some  definite  object  in  life,  to  which  they 
were  required  to  direct  their  thoughts  and  to  devote 
all  their  energies.  It  became,  therefore,  a  sole  and 
ruling  purpose  of  their  hearts,  and  was  almost  cer- 


108  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

tainly   the   means   of  their  future   advancement  and 
happiness  in  the  world. 

Of  the  thousands  of  men  who  are  annually  com- 
ing upon  the  stage  of  life  there  are  few  who  escape 
the  necessity  of  adopting  some  profession  or  calling; 
and  there  are  fewer  still  who,  if  they  knew  the  mis- 
eries of  idleness — tenfold  keener  and  more  numerous 
than  those  of  the  most  laborious  profession — would 
ever  desire  such  an  escape.  First  of  all,  a  choice 
of  business  or  occupation  should  be  made,  and  made 
early,  with  a  wise  reference  to  capacity  and  taste. 
The  youth  should  be  educated  for  it  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  in  it;  and  when  this  is  done  it  should  be  pur- 
sued with  industry,  energy,  and  enthusiasm,  which 
will  warrant  success. 

This  choice  of  an  occupation  depends  partly  upcn 
the  individual  preference  and  partly  upon  circum- 
stances. It  may  be  that  you  are  debarred  from  enter- 
ing upon  that  business  for  which  you  are  best  adapted. 
In  that  case  make  the  best  choice  in  your  power,  ap- 
ply yourself  faithfully  and  earnestly  to  whatever  you 
undertake,  and  you  can  not  well  help  achieving  a 
success.  Patient  application  sometimes  leads  to  great 
results.  No  man  should  be  discouraged  because  he 
does  not  get  on  rapidly  in  his  calling  frcm  the  start. 
In  the  more  intellectual  professions  especially  it 
should  be  remembered  that  a  solid  character  is  not 
the  growth  of  a  day,  that  the  mental  faculties  are  not 
matured  except  by  long  and  laborious  culture. 

To  refine  the  taste,  to  fortify  the  reasoning  fac 
ulty  with  its  appropriate  discipline,  to  store  the  cells, 


AIM  OF  LIFE.  109 

>f  memory  with  varied  and  useful  learning,  to  train 
ill  the  powers  of  the  mind  systematically,  is  the 
work  of  calm  and  studious  years.  A  young  man's 
education  has  been  of  but  little  use  to  him  if  it  has 
not  taught  him  to  check  the  fretful  impatience,  the 
eager  haste  to  drink  the  cup  of  life,  the  desire  to 
exhaust  the  intoxicating  draught  of  ambition.  He 
should  set  his  aim  so  high  that  it  will  require  patient 
years  of  toil  to  reach  it.  If  he  can  reach  it  at  a 
bound  it  is  unworthy  of  him.  It  should  be  of  such 
a  nature  that  he  feels  the  necessity  of  husbanding 
his  resources. 

You  will  receive  all  sorts  of  the  most  excellent 
advice,  but  you  must  do  your  own  deciding.  You 
have  to  take  care  of  yourself  in  this  world,  and  you 
may  as  well  take  your  own  way  of  doing  it.  But  if 
a  change  of  business  is  desired  be  sure  the  fault  is 
with  the  business  and  not  the  individual.  For  run- 
ning hither  and  thither  generally  makes  sorry  work, 
and  brings  to  poverty  ere  the  sands  of  life  are  half 
run.  The  North,  South,  East,  and  West  furnish 
vast  fields  for  enterprise ;  but  of  what  avail  for  the 
seeker  to  visit  the  four  corners  of  the  world  if  he 
still  is  dissatisfied,  and  returns  home  with  empty 
pockets  and  idle  hands,  thinking  that  the  world  is 
wrong  and  that  he  himself  is  a  misused  and  shame- 
fully imposed-on  creature?  The  world,  smiling  at 
the  rebuff,  moves  on,  while  he  lags  behind,  groaning 
over  misusage,  without  sufficient  energy  to  roll  up 
his  sleeves  and  fight  his  way  through. 

A  second  profession  seldom  succeeds,  not  because 


110  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

a  man  may  not  make  himself  fully  equal  to  its  du- 
ties, but  because  the  world  will  not  readily  believe 
he  is  so.  The  world  argues  thus  :  he  that  has  failed 
in  h.s  Lrst  profession,  to  which  he  dedicated  the 
mormng  of  his  life  and  the  Spring-time  of  his  exer- 
tion, is  not  the  most  likely  person  to  master  a  sec- 
ond. To  this  it  might  be  replied  that  a  man's  first 
profession  is  often  chosen  for  him  by  others ;  his 
second  he  usually  decides  upon  for  himself;  therefore, 
his  failure  in  his  first  profession  may,  for  what  he 
knows,  be  mainly  owing  to  the  sincere  but  mistaken 
attention  he  was  constantly  paying  to  his  second. 

Ever  remember  that  it  is  not  your  trade  or  pro- 
fession that  makes  you  respectable.  Manhood  and 
profession  or  handicraft  are  entirely  different  things. 
An  occupation  is  never  an  end  of  life.  It  is  an 
instrument  put  into  our  hands  by  which  to  gain  for 
the  body  the  means  of  living  until  sickness  or  old 
age  robs  it  of  life,  and  we  pass  on  to  the  world  for 
which  this  is  a  preparation.  The  great  purpose  of 
living  is  twofold  in  character.  The  one  should  never 
change  from  the  time  reason  takes  the  helm  ;  it  is  to 
live  a  life  of  manliness,  of  purity  and  honor.  To 
live  such  a  life  that,  whether  rich  or  poor,  your 
neighbors  will  honor  and  respect  you  as  a  man  of 
sterling  principles.  The  other  is  to  have  some  busi- 
ness, in  the  due  performance  of  which  you  are  to 
put  forth  all  your  exertions.  It  matters  not  so  much 
what  it  is  as  whether  it  be  honorable,  and  it  may 
change  to  suit  the  varying  change  of  circumstances. 
When  these  two  objects — character  and  a  high  aim — 


SUCCESS  OR  FAILURE.  Ill 

are  lairly  before  a  youth,  what  then?  He  must  strive 
to  attain  those  objects.  He  must  work  as  well  as 
dream,  labor  as  well  as  pray.  His  hand  must  be  as 
stout  as  his  heart,  his  arm  as  strong  as  his  head. 
Purpose  must  be  followed  by  action.  Then  is  he 
living1  and  acting  worthily,  as  becomes  a  human  be- 
ing with  great  destinies  in  store  for  him. 


JANKIND  every-where  are  desirous  of  achiev- 
?JBJ»  ing  a  success,  of  making  the  most  of  life.  At 
times,  it  is  true,  they  act  as  if  they  little  cared 
what  was  the  outcome  of  their  exertions.  But 
even  in  the  lives  of  the  most  abandoned  and  reckless 
there  are  moments  when  their  good  angel  points  out 
to  them  the  heights  to  which  they  might  ascend,  that 
a  wish  arises  for 

"Something  better  than  they  have  known." 

But,  alas !   they  have  not  the  will  to  make  the  neces- 
sary exertions. 

We  are  confronted  with  two  ends — success  or 
failure.  To  win  the  former  it  requires  of  us  labor 
and  perseverance.  We  must  remember  that  those 
who  start  for  glory  must  imitate  the  mettled  hounds 
of  Acton,  and  must  pursue  the  game  not  only  where 
there  is  a  path,  but  where  there  is  none.  They  must 
be  able  to  simulate  and  to  dissimulate ;  to  leap  and  to 


112  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

creep ;  to  conquer  the  earth  like  Csesar ;  to  fall  down 
and  kiss  it  like  Brutus ;  to  throw  their  sword,  like 
Brennus,  into  the  trembling  scale;  or,  like  Nelson, 
to  snatch  the  laurels  from  the  doubtful  hand  of  victory 
while  she  is  hesitating  where  to  bestow  them.  He 
that  would  win  success  in  life  must  make  Persever- 
ance his  bosom  friend,  Experience  his  wise  counselor, 
Caution  his  elder  brother,  and  Hope  his  guardian 
genius.  He  must  not  repine  because  the  fates  are 
sometimes  against  him,  but  when  he  trips  or  falls  let 
him,  like  Caesar  when  he  stumbled  on  shore,  stum- 
ble forward,  and,  by  escaping  the  omen,  change  its 
nature  and  meaning.  Remembering  that  those  very 
circumstances  which  are  apt  to  be  abused  as  the 
palliatives  of  failure  are  the  true  tests  of  merit,  let 
him  gird  up  his  loins  for  whatever  in  the  mysterious 
economy  of  the  future  may  await  him.  Thus  will  he 
rise  superior  to  ill-fortune,  and  becoming  daily  more 
and  more  impassive  to  its  attacks,  will  learn  to  force 
his  way  in  spite  of  it,  till,  at  last,  he  will  be  able  to 
fashion  his  luck  to  his  will. 

"Life  is  too  short,"  says  a  shrewd  thinker,  "for 
us  to  waste  one  moment  in  deploring  our  lot.  We 
must  go  after  success,  since  it  will  not  come  to  us, 
and  we  have  no  time  to  spare."  If  you  wish  to  suc- 
ceed, you  must  do  as  you  would  to  get  in  through  a 
crowd  to  a  gate  all  are  anxious  to  reach — hold  your 
ground  and  push  hard ;  to  stand  still  is  to  give  up 
the  battle.  Give  your  energies  to  the  highest  em- 
ployment of  which  your  nature  is  capable.  Be  alive, 
be  patient,  work  hard,  watch  opportunities,  be  rigidly 


SUCCESS  OR  FAILURE.  113 

honest,  hope  for  the  best;  and  if  you  are  not  able  to 
reach  the  goal  of  your  ambition,  which  is  possible  in 
spite  of  your  utmost  efforts,  you  will  die  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  having  done  your  best,  which  is  after  all 
the  truest  success  to  which  man  can  aspire. 

As  manhood  dawns  and  the  young  man  catcher 
its  first  lights,  the  pinnacles  of  realized  dreams,  the 
golden  domes  of  high  possibilities,  and  the  purpling 
hills  of  great  delights,  and  then  looks  down  upon  the 
narrow,  sinuous,  long,  and  dusty  paths  by  which 
others  have  reached  them,  he  is  apt  to  be  disgusted 
with  the  passage,  and  to  seek  for  success  through 
broader  channels  and  by  quicker  means.  To  begin 
at  the  foot  of  the  hills  and  work  slowly  to  the  top 
seems  a  very  discouraging  process,  and  here  it  is 
that  thousands  of  young  men  have  made  shipwreck 
of  their  lives.  There  is  no  royal  road  to-  success. 
The  path  lies  through  troubles  and  discouragements. 
It  lies  through  fields  of  earnest,  patient  labor.  It 
calls  on  the  young  man  to  put  forth  energy  and  de- 
termination. It  bids  him  build  well  his  foundation, 
but  it  promises  in  reward  of  this  a  crowning  triumph. 

There  never  was  a  time  in  the  world's  history 
when  high  success  in  any  profession  or  calling  der- 
manded  harder  or  more  earnest  labor  than  now.  It  is 
impossible  to  succeed  in  a  hurry.  Men  can  no  longer 
go  at  a  single  leap  into  eminent  positions.  As  those 
articles  are  most  highly  prized  to  attain  which  requires 
the  greatest  amount  of  labor,  so  the  road  that  leads  to 
success  is  long  and  rugged.  What  matter  if  a  round 
does  break  or  a  foot  slip;  such  things*  must  be 


114  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

expected,  and  being  expected,  they  must  be  overcome. 
Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day ;  but  proofs  of  her 
magnificent  temples  are  still  to  be  seen.  We  each 
prepare  a  temple  to  last  through  all  eternity.  A 
structure  to  last  so  long,  can  it  take  but  a  day  to 
build  it?  The  clays  of  a  life-time  are  necessary  to 
build  the  monument  mightier  than  Rome  and  more 
enduring  than  adamant.  It  is  hard,  earnest  work, 
step  by  step,  that  secures  success ;  and  while  energy 
and  perseverance  are  securing  the  prize  for  steady 
workers,  others,  sitting  down  by  the  wayside,  are 
wondering  why  they,  too,  can  not  be  successful.  They 
surely  forget  that  the  true  key  is  labor,  and  that 
nothing  but  a  strong,  resolute  will  can  turn  it. 

The  secret  of  one's  success  or  failure  is  usually 
contained  in  answer  to  the  question,  "How  earnest  is 
he?"  Success  is  the  child  of  confidence  and  persever- 
ance. The  talent  of  success  is  simply  doing  what 
you  can  do  well,  and  doing  well  whatever  you  do, 
without  a  thought  of  fame.  Success  is  the  best  test 
of  capacity,  and  materially  confirms  us  in  a  favorable 
opinion  of  ourselves.  Success  in  life  is  the  proper 
and  harmonious  development  of  those  faculties  which 
God  has  given  us.  Whatever  you  try  to  do  in  life, 
try  with  all  your  heart  to  do  it  well ;  whatever  you 
devote  yourself  to,  devote  yourself  to  it  completely. 
Never  believe  it  possible  that  any  natural  ability  can 
claim  immunity  from  companionship  of  the  steady, 
plain,  hard-working  qualities,  and  hope  to  gain  its 
end.  There  can  be  no  such  fulfillment  on  this  earth. 
Some  ha^py  talent  and  some  fortunate  opportunity 


SUCCESS  OR  FAILURE.  115 

may  form  the  sides  of  the  ladder  on  which  some  men 
mount ;  but  the  rounds  of  the  ladder  must  be  made 
of  material  to  stand  wear  and  tear,  and  there  is  no 
substitute  for  thorough-going,  ardent,  sincere  ear- 
nestness. Never  put  your  hand  on  any  thing  into 
which  you  can  not  throw  your  whole  self;  never 
affect  depreciation  of  your  own  work,  whatever  it  is. 

Although  success  is  the  guerdon  for  which  all 
men  toil,  they  have,  nevertheless,  often  to  labor  on 
perseveringly  without  any  glimmer  of  success  in  sight. 
They  have  to  live,  meanwhile,  upon  their  courage. 
Sowing  their  seed,  it  may  be  in  the  dark,  in  the  hope 
that  it  will  yet  take  root  and  spring  up  in  achieved 
result.  The  best  of  causes  have  had  to  fight  their 
way  to  triumph  through  a  long  succession  of  failures, 
and  many  of  the  assailants  have  died  in  the  breach 
before  the  fortune  has  been  won.  The  heroism  they 
have  displayed  is  to  be  measured,  not  so  much  by 
their  immediate  successes,  as  by  the  opposition  they 
have  encountered  and  the  courage  with  which  they 
have  maintained  the  struggle. 

Among  the  habits  required  for  the  efficient  pros- 
ecution of  business  of  any  kind,  and  consequent  suc- 
cess, the  most  important  are  those  of  application, 
observation,  method,  accuracy,  punctuality,  and  dis- 
patch. Some  persons  sneer  at  these  virtues  as  little 
things,  trifles  unworthy  of  their  notice.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  human  life  is  made  up  of  trifles.  As 
the  pence  make  the  pound  and  the  minutes  the  hour, 
so  it  is  the  repetition  of  little  things,  severally  insig- 
nificant, that  make  up  human  character.  In  the 


116  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LJFE. 

majority  of  cases  where  men  have  failed  of  success,  it 
has  been  owing  to  the  neglect  of  little  things  deemed 
too  microscopic  to  need  attention.  It  is  the  result  of 
practical,  every-day  experience,  that  steady  attention 
to.  matter  of  detail  is  the  mother  of  good  fortune. 
Accuracy  is  also  of  much  importance,  and  an  invaria- 
ble mark  of  good  training  in  a  man  —  accuracy  in 
observation,  accuracy  in  speech,  accuracy  in  the  trans- 
action of  affairs.  What  is  clone  in  business  must  be 
done  well  if  you  would  win  the  success  desired. 

Give  a  man  power,  and  a  field  in  which  to  use  it, 
and  he  must  accomplish  something.  He  may  not  do 
and  become  all  that  he  cj^sires  and  dreams  of,  but  his 
life  can  not  well  be  a  failure.  God  has  given  to  all 
of  us  ability  and  opportunity  enough  to  be  moder- 
ately successful.  If  we  utterly  fail,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  it  is  our  own  fault.  We  have  either  neglected 
to  improve  the  talents  with  which  our  Creator  has 
endowed  us,  or  we  fail  to  enter  the  door  that  has 
opened  for  us.  Such  is  the  constitution  of  human  so- 
ciety, that  the  wise  person  gradually  learns  not  to 
expect  too  much  from  life ;  while  he  strives  for  suc- 
cess by  worthy  methods,  he  will  be  prepared  for  fail- 
ure. *He  will  keep  his  mind  open  to  enjoyment,  but 
submit  patiently  to  suffering.  Wailings  and  com- 
plainings in  life  are  never  of  any  use ;  only  cheerful 
and  continuous  working  in  right  paths  are  of  real 
avail.  In  spite  of  our  best  efforts  failures  are  in  store 
for  many  of  us.  It  remains,  then,  for  you  to  do  the 
best  you  can  under  all  circumstances,  remembering 
that  the  race  is  not  always  to  the  swift  nor  the  battle 


SUCCESS  OR  FAILURE.  117 

to  the  strong.  It  is  by  the  right  application  of  swift- 
ness and  strength  that  you  are  to  make  your  way. 
It  is  not  sufficient  to  do  the  right  thing,  it  must  be 
done  in  the  right  way,  at  the  right  time,  if  you  would 
achieve  success. 

Young  man,  have  you  ever  considered  long  and 
earnestly  what  you  were  best  capable  of  doing  in  the 
world  ?  If  not  put  it  off  no  longer.  You  expect  to  do 
something,  you  wish  to  achieve  success.  Have  you 
ever  thought  of  what  success  consisted  ?  It  does  not 
consist  in  amassing  a  fortune ;  some  of  the  most  un- 
successful men  have  done  that.  Remember,  too,  that 
success  and  fame  are  not  synonymous  terms.  You 
can  not  all  be  famous  as  lawyers,  statesmen,  or  di- 
vines. You  may  or  may  not  accumulate  a  fortune. 
But  is  it  not  true  that  wealth,  position,  and  fame  are 
but  the  accidents  of  success,  that  success  may  or  may 
not  be  accompanied  by  them,  that  it  is  something 
above  and  beyond  them?  In  this  sense  of  the  word 
you  only  are  to  blame  if  you  fall.  It  is  in  your  power 
to  live  a  life  of  integrity  and  honor.  You  can  so 
live  that  all  will  honor  and  respect  you.  You  can 
speak  words  of  cheer  to  the  downhearted,  a  kindly 
word  of  caution  to  the  erring  one.  You  caw  help 
remove  some  obstacle  from  the  paths  of  the  weak. 
You  can  incite  in  the  minds  of  those  around  you  a 
desire  to  live  a  pure,  straightforward  life.  You  can 
bid  those  who  are  almost  overwhelmed  by  the  billows 
and  waves  of  sorrow,  to  look  up  and  see  the  sun  shin- 
ing' through  the  rifts  in  the  dark  clouds  passing  o'er 
them.  All  this  can  you  do,  and  a  grand  success  will  be 


118  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

your  reward.  Away,  then,  with  your  lethargy.  You 
are  a  man ;  arise  in  your  strength  and  your  manhood. 
Resolve  to  be  in  this,  its  true  sense,  a  successful  man. 
And  then  if  wealth  or  fame  wait  on  you,  and  men  de- 
light to  do  you  honor,  these  will  be  but  added  laurels 
to  your  brow,  but  the  gilded  frame  encasing  success. 


05 

*ABOR,  either  of  the  head  or  the  hand,  is  the  lot 
of  humanity.  There  are  no  exceptions  to  this 
general  rule.  The  rich  who  have  toiled  early 
and  late  for  a  competence  find  their  present  ease 
more  unendurable  than  their  past  exertions,  and  the 
round  of  pleasures  to  which,  in  other  days,  they 
looked  for  a  reward  of  their  toil  in  actual  realization, 
resolve  themselves  into  drudgeries,  often  worse  than 
those  from  which  they  vainly  fancied  they  had  es- 
caped. The  king  on  his  throne  is  beset  with  cares, 
and  the  labor  he  performs  is  ofttimes  far  heavier 
than  any  borne  by  the  poorest  peasant  in  his  do- 
minions. The  high  and  low  alike  acknowledge  the 
universal  sway  of  labor.  That  which  is  thus  the 
common  lot  of  mankind  and  reigns  with  such  uni- 
versal sway  can  not  be  otherwise  than  honorable  in 
the  highest  degree. 

Labor  may  be  a  burden  and  a  chastisement,  but 
it  is  also  an  honor  and  a  glory.  Without  it  nothing 
can  be  accomplished.  All  that  to  man  is  great  and 


DIGNITY  OF  LABOR.  119 

precious  is  acquired  only-  through  labor.  With- 
out it  civilization  would  relapse  into  barbarism.  It 
is  the  forerunner  and  indispensable  requisite  to  all 
the  sweet  influence  of  refinement.  It  is  the  herald 
of  happiness,  and  makes  the  desert  to  blossom  as 
a  garden  of  roses.  It  whitens  the  sea  with  sails, 
and  stretches  bands  of  iron  across  the  continent.  It 
is  labor  that  drives  the  plow,  scatters  the  seed,  and 
causes  the  fields  to  wave  in  golden  harvests  for  the 
good  of  man.  It  gathers  the  grain  and  sends  it  to 
different  regions  of  the  earth  to  feed  other  millions 
toiling  in  less  favored  channels  there.  Labor  gathers 
the  gossamer  web  of  the  caterpillar,  the  cotton  from 
the  field,  and  the  fleece  from  the  flock,  and  weaves 
them  into  raiment  soft,  warm,  and  beautiful.  The 
purple  robe  of  royalty,  the  plain  man's  sober  suit, 
the  fantastic  dress  of  the  painted  savage,  and  the 
furry  coverings  of  arctic  lands  are  alike  the  results 
of  its  handiwork,  and  proofs  of  its  universal  sway 
and  honor.  Labor  molds  the  brick,  splits  the  slate, 
and  quarries  the  stone.  It  shapes  the  column  and 
rears  not  only  the  humble  cottage  but  the  gorgeous 
palace,  the  tapering  spire  and  stately  dome. 

It  is  by  labor  that  mankind  have  risen  from  a  state 
of  barbarism  to  the  light  of  the  present.  It  is  only 
by  labor  that  progression  can  continue.  Labor,  pos- 
sessing such  inherent  dignity  and  being  the  grand 
measure  of  progress,  it  is  most  fitting  that  man 
should  not  taste  life's  greatest  happiness,  or  wield 
great  influence  for  good,  or  reach  the  summit  of  his 
ambitious  resolves,  save  only  as  the  result  of  long 


120  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  patient  labor.  Life  is  a  short  day ;  but  it  is  a 
working  day,  and  not  a  holiday.  Man  was  made  for 
action,  and  life  is  a  mere  scene  for  the  exercise  of 
the  mind  and  engagement  of  the  hand  —  o  scene 
where  the  most  important  occupations  are,  in  cn< 
sense,  but  species  of  amusement,  and  where  so  lo::i, 
as  we  take  pleasure  in  the  pursuit  of  an  object  it 
matters  but  little  that  we  secure  it  not,  or  that  it 
fades  when  acquired. 

Life  to  some  is  drudgery ;  to  some,  pain ;  to  some, 
art ;  to  others,  pleasure  ;  but  to  all,  work.  Let  none 
feel  a  sense  of  sore  disappointment  that  life  to  them 
becomes  routine.  It  is  a  necessary  consequence  of 
our  natures  that  our  work  and  our  amusements,  our 
business  and  our  pleasures,  should  tend  to  become 
routine.  The  same  wants,  the  same  demands,  and 
similar  duties  meet  us  on  the  threshold  of  every  day. 
We  look  forward  to  some  great  occasion  on  which 
to  display  ourselves,  some  grand  event  in  which  to 
give  proof  of  a  heroic  spirit,  and  complain  of  the 
petty  routine  of  daily  life.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  this 
succession  of  little  duties — little  works  apparently  cf 
no  account — which  constitute  the  grand  work  of  life; 
and  we  display  true  nobility  when  we  cheerfully  take, 
these  up  and  go  forward,  content  to 

"Labor  and  to  wait." 

Alas  for  the  man  or  woman  who  has  not  learned 
to  work!  They  are  but  poor  creatures.  They  know 
not  themselves.  They  depend  on  others  for  support, 
Let  them  not  fancy  they  have  a  monopoly  of  enjoy- 


DIGNITY  OF  LABOR.  121 

ment.  They  have  missed  the  sweetest  pleasure  of 
life,  even  the  pleasure  of  self-reliant  feeling,  born  of 
vanquished  difficulties.  They  know  not  the  thrill 
of  pleasure  experienced  by  him  who  carries  difficult 
projects  to  a  successful  termination.  Each  rest  owes 
its  deliciousness  to  toil,  and  no  toil  is  so  burdensome 
as  the  rest  of  him  who  has  nothing  to  task  and 
quicken  his  powers.  They  do  not  realize,  in  their 
blind  pride,  what  labor  has  done  for  them.  It  was 
labor  that  rocked  them  in  their  cradle  and  nourished 
their  pampered  life.  Without  it  the  very  garments 
on  their  back  would  be  unspun.  He  is  indebted  to 
toil  for  the  meanest  thing  that  ministers  to  his  wants, 
save  only  the  air  of  heaven,  and  even  that,  in  God's 
wise  providence,  is  breathed  with  labor. 

Labor  explores  the  rich  veins  of  deeply  buried 
rocks,  extracting  the  gold  and  silver,  the  copper  and 
tin.  Labor  smelts  the  iron,  and  molds  it  into  a 
thousand  shapes  for  use  and  ornaments,  from  the 
massive  pillar  to  the  tiniest  needle,  from  the  ponder- 
ous anchor  to  the  wire  gauze,  from  the  mighty  fly- 
wheel of  the  engine  to  the  polished  purse-ring  or 
glittering  bead.  Labor  hews  down  the  gnarled  oak, 
shapes  the  timbers,  builds  the  ship,  and  guides  it 
over  the  deep,  bringing  to  our  shores  the  produce 
of  every  clime. 

But  mere  physical,  manual  labor  is  not  the  sole 
end  of  life.  It  must  be  joined  with  higher  means  of 
improvement,  or  it  degrades  instead  of  exalts.  The 
poorest  laborer  has  intellect,  heart,  imagination, 
tastes,  as  well  as  bones  and  muscles,  and  he  is 


122  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

grievously  wronged  when  compelled  to  exclusive 
drudgery  for  bodily  subsistence.  It  is  the  condition 
of  all  outward  comforts  and  improvements,  whilst,  at 
the  same  time,  it  conspires  with  higher  means  and 
influences  in  ministering  to  the  vigor  and  growth  of 
the  mind.  Not  only  has  labor  inherent  dignity,  but 
it  is  almost  a  necessity  for  mind  as  well  as  body. 
Man  is  an  intelligence,  sustained  and  preserved  by 
bodily  organs,  and  their  active  exercise  is  necessary 
to  the  enjoyment  of  health.  It  is  not  work,  but  over- 
work, that  is  hurtful ;  it  is  not  hard  work  that  is  in- 
jurious FO  much  as  monotonous,  fagging,  hopeless 
work.  All  hopeful  work  is  healthful ;  and  to  be  use- 
fully and  properly  employed  is  one  of  the  great 
secrets  of  happiness. 

Most  interesting  is  the  contemplation  of  the  vic- 
tories achieved  by  the  hand  of  labor — victories  far 
grander  than  any  achieved  by  physical  force  on  the 
field  of  battle  ;  for  its  conquests  are  wrested  from 
nature.  The  very  elements  are  brought  under  sub- 
jection, and  made  to  contribute  to  the  good  of  man. 
It  displays  its  triumph  in  a  thousand  cities  ;  it  glories 
in  shapes  of  beauty  ;  it  speaks  in  words  of  power ; 
it  makes  the  sinewy  arm  strong  with  liberty,  the  poor 
man's  heart  rich  with  content,  crowns  the  swarthy 
and  sweaty  brow  with  honor,  dignity,  and  peace.  It 
is  one  of  the  best  regulators  of  practical  character. 
It  evokes  and  disciplines  obedience,  self-control,  at- 
tention, application,  and  perseverance,  giving  a  man 
deftness  and  skill  in  his  physical  calling,  and  aptitude 
and  dexterity  in  the  affairs  of  ordinary  life.  Work  is 


DIGNITY  OF  LABOR.  123 

the  law  of  our  being,  the  living  principle  that  carries 
men  and  nations  onward.  Manual  labor  is  a  school 
in  which  men  are  placed  to  get  energy  of  purpose 
and  character — a  vastly  more  important  endowment 
than  the  learning  of  other  schools. 

The  laborer  is  placed,  indeed,  under  hard  mas- 
ters— the  power  of  physical  elements,  physical  suffer- 
ings, and  want.  But  these  stern  teachers  do  a  work 
which  no  compassionate,  intelligent  friend  could  do 
for  us,  and  true  wisdom  will  bless  Providence  for  this 
sharp  necessity.  Labor  is  not  merely  the  grand  in- 
strument by  which  the  earth  is  overspread  with  fruit- 
fulness  and  beauty,  the  ocean  subdued,  and  matter 
wrought  into  innumerable  forms  for  comfort  and 
ornament ;  it  has  a  far  higher  function,  which  Js  to 
give  force  to  the  will,  efficiency,  courage,  the  capacity 
of  endurance  and  of  devotion  to  far-reaching  plans. 

We  must  ever  remember  that  it  is  the  intention 
only  that  disgraces  ;  that  all  honest  work  is  honor- 
able ;  and  if  your  occupation  be  not  so  high-sounding 
as  you  would  like,  still  it  is  better  to  work  faithfully 
at  this  until  opportunity  opens  the  door  to  something 
higher.  Because  you  do  not  find  just  what  suits  you, 
to  refuse  to  labor  at  all,  to  play  the  drone,  is  to  act 
unworthy  of  yourself  and  your  destiny.  Neither  is 
it  beneath  you  to  make  yourself  useful,  regardless  of 
what  your  position  and  wealth  may  be.  A  gentle- 
man by  birth  and  education,  however  richly  he  may 
be  endowed  with  worldly  position,  can  not  but  feel 
ibat  he  is  in  duty  bound  to  contribute  his  quota  of 
endeavor  towards  the  general  well-being  in  which  he 


124  GOLDEN  OEMS  OF  LIFE. 

shares.  He  can  not  be  satisfied  with  being  fed,  clad, 
and  maintained  by  the  labors  of  others,  without  mak- 
ing some  suitable  return  to  the  society  that  upholds 
him.  It  matters  not  what  a  person's  natural  gifts 
may  be,  he  can  not  expect  to  attain  in  any  professior 
tj  a  high  degree  of  success  without  going  through 
with  a  vast  deal  of  work,  which,  taken  by  itself, 
would  rightly  be  called  drudgery.  That  quality  in 
man  which,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  we  call  genius, 
does  not  consist  in  an  ability  to  get  along  without 
work,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  generally  the  faculty 
of  doing  an  immense  amount  of  work.  Young  men 
sometimes  think  that  it  is  not  respectable  to  be  at 
work,  and  imagine  that  there  is  some  character  of 
disgrace  or  degradation  belonging  to  toil.  No  greater 
mistake  could  be  made.  Instead  of  being  disgraceful 
to  engage  in  work,  it  is  especially  honorable.  The 
most  illustrious  names  in  history  were  hard  workers. 
No  one  whom  posterity  delights  to  honor  ever 
dreamed  or  idled  his  way  to  fame.  To  be  idle  and 
useless  is  neither  an  honor  nor  a  privilege.  Though 
persons  of  small  natures  may  be  content  merely  to 
consume,  men  of  average  endowments,  of  manly  ex- 
pectations, and  of  honest  purpose  xvill  feel  such  a 
condition  to  be  incompatible  with  real  honor  and  true 
dignity. 

The  noblest  man  on  earth  is  he  who  puts  his 
hands  cheerfully  and  proudly  to  honest  labor,  and 
goes  forth  to  conquer  honor  and  worth.  Labor  is 
mighty  and  beautiful.  The  world  has  long  since 
learned  that  man  can  not  be  truly  man  without  em- 


PERSE  VERA  NCE.  125 

ployment.  Would  that  young  men  might  judge  of 
the.  dignity  of  labor  by  its  usefulness  rather  than  by 
the  gloss  it  wears !  We  do  not  see  a  man's  nobility 
in  dress  and  toilet  adornments,  but  in  the  sinewy 
arm,  roughened,  it  may  be,  by  hardy,  honest  toil 
under  whose  farmer's  or  mechanic's  vest  a  kingl) 
heart  may  beat.  Exalt  thine  adopted  calling  or  pro- 
fession, Look  on  labor  as  honorable,  and  dignify  the 
task  before  thee,  whether  it  be  in  the  study,  office, 
counting-room,  workshop,  or  furrowed  field.  There 
is  equality  in  all,  and  the  resolute  will  and  pure  heart 
may  ear.t>ble  either. 


is  only  by  reflection  that  we  derive  a  just  ap 
preciation  of  the  value  of  perseverance.     When 


we  see  how  much  can  be  accomplished  in  any 
given  direction  by  the  man  or  woman  of  but  aver- 
age ability  who  resolutely  perseveres  in  the  course  of 
action  adopted  as  the  ruling  purpose  of  their  lives, 
v.e  then  arrive  at  a  just  estimate  of  the  value  of  pers. 
verance  as  a  factor  in  success.  The  old  fable  of  the 
hare  and  the  tortoise  only  exemplifies  a  truth  which 
we  are  all  ready  to  admit  when  we  once  stop  to 
admire  those  stupendous  works  of  nature  and  art, 
which  proclaim  in  no  uncertain  tones  the  triumph  of 
perseverance.  All  the  performances  of  human  art, 
at  which  we  look  with  praise  or  wonder,  are  instances 


126  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  the  resistless  force  of  perseverance.  It  is  by  this 
that  the  quarry  becomes  a  pyramid  ;  it  is  by  this  the 
Coliseum  of  Rome  was  built ;  and  this  it  was  that 
inclosed  in  adamant  the  Chinese  empire. 

One  man's  individual  exertion  seems  to  go  for 
nothing.  If  a  person  were  to  compare  the  result  oi 
one  man's  work  with  the  general  design  and  last 
result,  he  would  be  overwhelmed  by  the  sense  of 
their  disproportion.  Yet  these  petty  operations,  in- 
cessantly continued,  in  time  surmount  the  greatest 
difficulties.  Mountains  are  elevated  and  oceans 
bounded  by  the  slender  force  of  human  beings. 
How  many  men,  who  have  won  well-nigh  imperish- 
able renown  in  the  world  of  literature,  science,  or 
art,  owe  all  their  greatness  to  persevering  efforts? 
How  many  of  those  whom  the  world  calls  geniuses 
can  exclaim  with  Newton  that  they  owe  all  their 
greatness  to  persevering  efforts,  and  whatever  they 
may  .have  been  able  to  accomplish  more  than  ordi- 
nary has  been  solely  by  virtue  of  perseverance  ? 
They  were  the  sons  of  unremitting  industry  and  toil. 
They  were  once  as  weak  and  helpless  as  any  of  us, 
once  as  destitute  of  wisdom  and  power  as  an  infant. 
Once  the  very  alphabet  of  that  language  which  the) 
have  wielded  with  such  magic  effect  was  unknown  to 
them.  They  toiled  long  to  learn  it,  to  get  its  sounds, 
understand  its  deeper  fancies,  and  longer  still  to 
obtain  the  secret  of  its  highest  charm  and  mightiest 
power,  and  yet  even  longer  for  those  living,  glorious 
thoughts  which  they  bade  it  bear  to  an  astonished 
and  admiring  world. 


PERSEVERANCE.  127 

Their  characters,  which  are  now  given  to  the 
world  and  will  be  to  millions  yet  unborn  as  patterns 
of  greatness  and  goodness,  were  made  by  that  untir- 
ing perseverance  which  marked  their  whole  lives. 
From  childhood  to  age  they  knew  no  such  word  as 
fail.  Defeat  only  gave  them  power ;  difficulty  only 
taught  them  the  necessity  of  redoubled  exertions; 
clangers  gave  them  courage,  and  the  sight  of  great 
labors  inspired  in  them  corresponding  exertions. 
Their  success  has  been  wrought  out  by  persevering 
industry.  It  has  been  said  by  shrewd  observers  that 
successful  men  owe  more  to  their  perseverance  than 
to  their  natural  powers,  their  friends,  or  the  favorable 
circumstances  around  them.  Genius  will  falter  by 
the  side  of  labor,  great  powers  will  give  place  to  great 
industry.  Talents  are  desirable,  but  perseverance*  is 
more  so.  It  will  make  mental  powers,  or  at  least 
strengthen  those  already  made.  This  should  teach  a 
great  lesson  of  patience  to  those  who  are  so  nearly 
ready  to  sink  in  despair,  and  have  grown  weary  in 
their  strivings  for  better  things.  For  one  who  faints 
not,  but  resolutely  takes  up  the  work  of  life  and  per- 
severingly  continues  his  exertion,  it  is  possible  for 
him  to  reach  almost  any  height  to  which  his  ambition 
may  point.  Some  of  the  great  works  of  literature, 
in  which  are  stored  away  great  masses  of  information, 
are  the  results  of  persevering  efforts,  before  which 
many  minds  would  have  quailed. 

Gibbon  consumed  nineteen  years  in  writing  his 
masterpiece.  How  many  would  have  had  the  cour- 
age to  persevere  that  length  of  time,  though  certain 


128  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  success  at  last?  Courage,  when  combined  with 
energy  and  perseverance,  will  overcome  difficulties 
apparently  insurmountable.  Perseverance,  working 
in  the  right  direction  and  when  steadily  practiced, 
even  by  the  most  humble,  will  rarely  fail  of  its  reward. 
1:  inspires  in  the  minds  of  all  fair-minded  people  i 
friendly  feeling.  Who  will  not  befriend  the  persever- 
ing, energetic  youth,  the  fearless  man  of  industry  ? 
Who  is  not  a  friend  to  him  who  is  a  friend  to  himself? 
He  who  perseveres  in  business,  amidst  hardships  and 
discouragements,  will  always  find  ready  and  generous 
friends  in  time  of  need.  He  who  will  persevere  in  a 
course  of  wisdom,  rectitude,  and  benevolence,  is  sure 
to  gather  round  him  friends  who  will  be  true  and 
faithful. 

*Go  to  the  men  of  business,  of  worth,  of  influence, 
and  ask  them  who  shall  have  their  confidence  and 
support.  They  will  tell  you  "the  men  who  falter  not 
by  the  wayside,  who  toil  on  in  their  calling  against 
every  barrier,  whose  eyes  are  'upward,'  and  whose 
motto  is  'excelsior.'"  These  are  the  men  to  whom 
they  give  their  confidence.  But  they  shun  the  lazy, 
the  indolent,  the  fearful  and  faltering.  They  would 
as  soon  trust  the  wind  as  such  men.  If  you  would 
win  friends,  be  steady  and  true  to  yourself.  Be  the 
unfailing  friend  of  your  own  purposes,  stand  by  your 
own  character,  and  others  will  come  to  your  aid. 

Almost  every  portion  of  the  earth  teems  with 
works  which  show  what  man  has  been  able  to  effect 
in  the  physical  world  by  means  of  perseverance. 
Calculate,  if  you  can,  the  efforts  required  to  builci 


PERSE  VERA  NCE.  1 29 

the  pyramids  of  Egyf  ;.  Can  you  conceive  of  a  more 
enduring  monument  to  the  triumph  of  perseverance 
than  that  ?  Look  at  nature.  She  has  a  thousand 
voices  teaching  lessons  of  perseverance.  The  lofty 
mountains  are  wearing  down  by  slow  degrees.  The 
ocean  is  gradually,  but  surely,  filling  up,  by  deposits 
from  its  thousand  rivers,  and  by  the  labors  of  a  little 
insect  so  small  as  to  be  almost  invisible  to  the  naked 
eye.  Every  shower  that  sweeps  over  the  surface  of 
the  country  tends  to  bring  the  hills  and  the  mount- 
ains to  the  level  of  the  plains.  Nature  has  but  one 
lesson  on  this  subject,  and  that  is,  "  Persevere." 

More  depends  upon  active  perseverance  than 
upon  genius.  Says  a  common-sense  author  upon 
this  subject:  "Genius  unexerted  is  no  more  genius 
than  a  bushel  of  acorns  is  a  forest  of  oaks."  Thefe 
may  be  epics  in  men's  brains,  just  as  there  are  oaks 
in  acorns,  but  the  tree  and  the  book  must  come  out 
before  we  can  measure  them.  Firmness  of  purpose 
is  one  of  the  most  necessary  sinews  of  character,  and 
one  of  the  best  instruments  of  success.  Without  it, 
genius  wastes  its  efforts  in  a  maze  of  inconsistencies. 
It  gives  power  to  weakness,  and  opens  to  poverty  the 
world's  mark.  It  spreads  fertility  over  the  barren 
landscape,  and  bids  the  choicest  fruits  and  flowers 
spring  up  and  flourish  in  the  desert  abode.  There 
is,  perhaps,  nothing  more  conducive  to  success  in 
any  important  and  difficult  undertaking  than  a  firm, 
steady,  unremitting  spirit.  In  seasons  of  distress 
and  difficulty,  to  abandon  ourselves  to  dejection  is 
evidence  of  a  weak  mind.  Opposing  circumstances 


13C  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

often  create  strength,  both  mental  and  physical.  Op- 
position gives  us  greater  power  of  resistance.  To 
overcome  one  barrier  gives  us  greater  ability  to  over- 
come the  next.  It  is  cowardice  to  grumble  about 
circumstances.  Instead  of  sinking  under  trouble,  it 
becomes  us,  in  the  evil  day,  with  perseverance  tc 
maintain  our  part,  to  bear  up  against  the  storm,  to 
have  recourse  to  those  advantages,  which,  in  the 
worst  of  times,  are  always  left  to  integrity  and 
virtue,  and  never  to  give  up  the  hope  that  better 
days  may  come. 

It  is  wonderful  to  see  what  miracles  a  resolute 
and  unyielding  will  can  achieve.  Before  its  irresisti 
ble  energy  the  most  formidable  obstacles  become  as 
cobweb  barriers  in  the  path.  Difficulties,  the  terrors 
of  which  cause  the  irresolute  to  sink  back  with  dis- 
may, provoke  from  the  man  of  lofty  determination 
only  a  smile.  The  whole  history  of  our  race,  all 
nature,  indeed,  teems  with  examples  to  show  what 
wonders  may  be  accomplished  by  resolute  persever- 
ance and  patient  toil.  How  many  there  are  who, 
thinking  of  the  immense  amount  of  work  lying  be- 
tween them  and  the  object  of  their  desires,  are  almost 
ready  to  give  up  in  despair  !  But  do  they  not,  when 
they  view  the  work  thus  in  mass,  forget  that  there  is 
time  enough,  if  only  rightly  improved,  to  suffice  for 
each  effort  ? 

One  step  after  another,  perse-,  eringly  continued, 
will  enable  you  to  arrive  at  your  journey's  end,  how- 
ever  long  it  may  be.  It  is  only  when  you  come  to 
reckon  up  the  aggregate  number  of  steps  that  you 


PERSEVERANCE.  131 

art.  ready  to  sink  under  a  feeling  of  despair.  But 
you  ^re  not  required  to  take  them  all  at  once  ;  there 
is  an  allotted  time  for  each  individual  step.  Thus, 
in  viewing  any  work  that  you  may  have  marked  out 
in  life,  only  remember  that  you  are  not  obliged  to  do 
the  work  all  at  once  ;  that  the  regular  daily  portions 
performed  quietly  and  systematically,  day  after  day, 
will  enable  you  to  achieve  almost  any  desired  result. 
When  we  reflect  on  the  wonderful  results  that  per- 
severance has  accomplished,  we  are  led  to  believe 
that  the  man  who  wills,  resolves,  and  perseveres  can 
do  almost  any  thing. 

Every  one,  then,  regardless  of  his  condition  in 
life,  should  set  his  aim  high,  and  resolve  to  remit  no 
labor  necessary  for  its  realization,  but  cheerfully  take 
up  the  trials  and  burdens  that  life  has  in  store  for 
him,  and  carry  them  forward,  b*e  the  discouragements 
what  they  may,  to  a  glorious  consummation.  Only 
learn  to  carry  a  thing  through  in  all  of  its  details, 
and  you  have  measured  the  secret  of  success.  Only 
learn  to  persevere  in  carrying  out  any  plan  of  work 
which  an  enlightened  judgment  decides  is  the  best, 
and  you  will  force  life  to  yield  you  its  grandest  tri- 
umphs. There  is  almost  no  limit  to  what  you  can 
achieve  if  you  thus  govern  your  actions,  and  make 
all  your  exertions  contribute  to  the  fulfilling  of  some 
great  purpose  of  life,  which  you  took  up  with  a  brave 
heart,  and  with  a  determination  to  persevere  therein 
until  success  crowns  your  efforts. 


132  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


iLOSELY  allied  with  the  qualities  of  self-reliance 
and  energy  is  that  characteristic  quality  which  so* 
much  conduces  to  success  in  life,  and  is  gener- 
ally expressed  by  the  word  "enterprise."  It  is. 
distinct  from  energy,  inasmuch  as  it  is  constantly 
active  in  discovering  new  fields  for  energy  to  exert 
itself  in.  We  are  familiar  with  examples  of  men 
who  have  won  fortunes  or  gained  renown,  not  be- 
cause they  pursued  better  or  wiser  courses,  but 
because  of  some  originality  in  their  aims  and  meth- 
ods, by  which  they  were  enabled  to  command  the 
attention  of  the  busy  world  long  enough  to  wrest 
from  it  the  special  object  of  their  choice. 

True  enterprise  is  constantly  on  the  alert  to  dis- 
cover some  new  want  of  society,  some  fertile  source 
of  profit  or  honor,  some  unexplored  field  of  business, 
and  is  ready  to  supply  the  one  or  to  take  advantage 
of  the  other.  It  is  nearly  an  indispensable  element 
in  these  days  of  fierce  competition.  Every  avenue 
of  business  is  crowded,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  known 
that  one  party  has  made  a  success  by  one  method 
there  are  scores  of  eager  aspirants  ready  to  try  the 
successful  plan,  so  that  straightway  it,  too,  ceases  to 
be  unique,  and,  in  becoming  common,  loses  the  power 
it  formerly  possessed  of  compelling  success.  Hence 
the  late-comers  in  the  field  are  doomed  to  failure, 
while  they  may  at  the  same  time  be  the  better  fitted 
for  the  peculiar  work  in  hand.  What  they  should 


ENTERPRISE.  133 

do  is  to  aim  at  success  by  new  plans  and  methods. 
Every  one  knows  the  enthusiastic  glow  that  animates 
the  whole  being  of  him  who  feels  the  ardor  of  an 
explorer,  who  surmounts  difficulties  by  new  and,  be- 
fore, unthought-of  expedients,  who  plans  and  projects 
enterprises  that  had  previously  escaped  the  active 
minds  of  his  fellow  men. 

It  is  by  virtue  of  this  very  enthusiasm  that  the 
man  of  enterprise,  who  is  so  ready  to  adopt  new 
measures,  plans,  and  projects,  is  enabled  to  carry 
into  his  business  or  profession  an  energy  and  inspira- 
tion which  is  totally  lacking  on  the  part  of  those  who 
are  followers.  Hence  the  latter  ofttimes  fail  of  suc- 
cess which  their  talents  might  almost  be  said  to  have 
promised  them.  Therefore,  those  who  enter  the  lists 
to  win  life's  battles  must  expect,  if  they  would  reach 
their  goal,  to  wage  the  fight  not  only  by  the  old 
methods  but  by  the  new.  To  use  only  those  tactics 
which  are  sanctioned  by  usage  is  to  invite  defeat. 
Throw  open  the  windows  of  your  mind  to  new  ideas, 
and  keep  at  least  abreast  of  the  times,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, ahead  of  them.  Nothing  is  more  fatal  to 
self-advancement  than  a  stupid  conservatism  or  a 
servile  imitation.  The  days  when  a  man  could  get 
rich  by  plodding  on  without  enterprise  and  without 
taxing  his  brains  have  gone  by.  Mere  industry  and 
economy  are  not  enough  ;  there  must  be  intelligence 
and  original  thought. 

Whatever  your  calling,  inventiveness,  adaptability, 
promptness  of  decision,  must  direct  and  utilize  your 
force,  and  if  you  do  not  find  markets  you  must  make 


134  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

them.  In  business  you  need  not  know  many  books, 
but  you  must  know  your  trade  and  men.  You  may 
be  slow  at  logic,  but  you  must  dart  at  chances.  You 
may  stick  to  your  groove  in  politics,  but  in  your 
business  you  must  switch  into  new  tracks,  and  shape 
yourself  to  every  exigency.  We  emphasize  this 
matter  because  in  no  country  is  the  red-tapist  so 
out  of  place  as  here.  Every  calling  is  filled  with 
bold,  keen,  subtle-witted  men,  fertile  in  expedients 
and  devices,  who  are  perpetually  inventing  new  ways 
of  buying  cheaply,  underselling,  or  attracting  custom  ; 
and  the  man  who  sticks  doggedly  to  the  old-fashioned 
methods  —  who  runs  in  a  perpetual  rut  —  will  find 
himself  outstripped  in  the  race  of  life,  if  he  is  not 
stranded  on  the  sands  of  popular  indifference.  Keep, 
then,  your  eyes  open  and  your  wits  about  you,  and 
you  may  distance  all  competitors ;  but,  if  you  ignore 
all  new  methods,  you  will  find  yourself  like  a  lugger 
contending  with  an  ocean  steamer. 

It  is  enterprise  that  oils  the  wheels  of  energy 
and  industry.  Industry  gathers  together,  with  a 
frugal  hand,  the  means  whereby  we  are  enabled  to 
develop  our  plans  and  purposes.  Energy  gives  us 
force  whereby  we  gather  the  courage  to  persevere 
in  the  lines  decided  on,  bids  us  put  on  a  bold  mien 
and  go  forth  to  do  valiant  battle  against  opposing 
circumstances.  But  it  is  enterprise  that  suggests 
ways  and  means  to  overcome  difficulties  that  threaten 
to  overwhelm  us.  It  is  enterprise  that  bids  us  ex- 
plore entirely  new  fields,  discovering  expedients  that 
enable  us  to  change  what,  by  the  force  of  circum- 


ENTERPRISE.  135 

stances,  was  fast  becoming  a  failure  into  a  glorious 
victory,  bringing  to  us  wealth,  position,  and  fame.  It 
is  to  enterprise  that  we  are  indebted  for  those  rich  dis- 
coveries in  scientific  fields  by  which  we  decipher  the  rec- 
ords of  past  ages,  and  unravel  the  secrets  which  nature 
surrounded  with  mystery,  compelling  them  to  serve  us. 

It  was  enterprise  that  harnessed  steam,  teaching 
it  to  do  our  bidding,  and  brought  the  lightning  down 
from  the  heavens  to  carry  our  thoughts  to  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth.  It  is  the  spirit  of  enter- 
prise driving  curious  minds  to  work  in  new  directions 
that  has  given  us  all  those  useful  and  curious  in- 
ventions, which  have  done  so  much  to  make  this 
nineteenth-century  civilization  to  shine  with  so  lus- 
trous a  light.  In  short,  it  is  enterprise  that  lifts  the 
man  of  but  mediocre  abilities  and  attainments  into 
the  foremost  ranks  of  the  successful  ones. 

Enterprise  is  an  inheritance  and  not  an  acquisi- 
tion. But  it  can  at  the  same  time  be  improved  by 
cultivation,  the  same  as  bodily  strength  or  any  men- 
tal faculty.  He  who  would  excel  as  a  swimmer  must 
be  often  in  the  water,  and  the  gymnast  does  not 
spare  himself  long  and  fatiguing  exertions.  So  of 
an  enterprising  spirit.  Some  men  seem  born  with  an 
overflow  of  this,  while  others  possess  it  in  a  slight 
degree  only.  But  if  any  would  be  known  as  enter- 
prising men,  they  must  not  hesitate  to  show  by  their 
every-day  actions  that  they  rely  upon  themselves  in 
cases  of  emergency,  and  the  greater  the  necessity 
the  better  means  of  surmounting  it  are  constantly 
discovered.  They  must  not  hesitate  to  try  plans 


136  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

because  they  are  new ;  b>Mt  if  sober  judgment  can  dis- 
cover no  objection  to  it,  they  must  seize  upon  the 
very  novelty  of  the  plan  as  an  inducement,  and  be 
only  the  more  eager  to  put  it  to  the  test.  There  is 
no  life  so  routine  but  that  it  constantly  affords  scope 
for  the  exercise  of  enterprising  energy.  The  very 
fact  that  you  are  finding  it  routine  and  commonplace 
should  at  once  set  you  to  work  to  devise  some  new 
way  to  change  this. 

Do  not  stand  sighing,  wishing,  and  waiting,  but  go 
to  work  with  an  energy  and  perseverance  that  will 
set  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  your  success  flying 
like  leaves  before  a  whirlwind.  A  weak  and  irreso- 
lute way  of  doing  business  will  shipwreck  your  plans 
as  readily  as  effects  follow  causes.  You  may  have 
ambition  enough  to  wish  yourself  on  the  topmost 
round  of  the  ladder  of  success  ;  but  if  you  have  not 
the  requisite  energy  to  commence  and  enterprise 
enough  to  push  ahead  even  when  you  know  you  are 
off  the  beaten  track,  you  will  always  remain  at  the 
bottom,  or  at  least  on  the  lower  rounds.  Providence 
has  hidden  a  charm  in  difficult  undertakings  which  is 
appreciated  only  by  those  who  dare  to  grapple  with 
them.  But  this  can  only  be  true  when  you,  by  your 
own  exertions  and  the  strength  of  your  own  self- 
reliance  and  enterprise,  have  achieved  the  results. 
Nothing  can  be  more  distasteful  than  to  see  men  of 
apparently  good  abilities  waiting  for  some  one  to 
come  and  help  them  over  difficulties. 

Be  your  own  helper.  If  a  rock  rises  up  before 
you,  roll  it  along  or  climb  over  it.  If  you  want 


ENTERPRISE.  137 

money,  earn  it.  If  you  want  confidence,  prove  your- 
self worthy  of  it.  Do  not  be  content  with  doing 
what  has  been  done ;  surpass  it.  Deserve  suc- 
cess and  it  will  come.  The  sun  does  not  rise  like  a 
rocket  or  go  down  like  a  bullet  fired  from  a  gun ; 
slowly  and  surely  it  makes  it  rounds,  and  never  tires. 
It  is  as  easy  to  be  a  lead  horse  as  a  wheel  horse. 
If  the  job  be  long,  the  pay  will  be  greater ;  if  the 
task  be  hard,  the  more  competent  you  must  be  to  do 
it.  We  must  apportion  our  strength  and  exertions 
to  the  requisite  tasks  and  duties.  He  who  weakly 
shrinks  from  the  struggle,  who  will  offer  no  resist- 
ance, who  will  endure  no  labor  nor  fatigue,  can 
neither  fulfill  his  own  vocation,  nor  contribute  aught 
to  the  general  welfare  of  mankind. 

The  spirit  of  the  times  demands  that  all  who 
would  rise  in  life  shrink  not  back  from  labor,  but  it 
also  demands  that  they  exert  themselves  understand- 
ingly ;  that  they  spare  no  effort  to  master  all  the 
intricacies  of  the  business  or  vocation  in  which  they 
are  engaged;  that  they  be  alert  to  discover  new 
ways  by  which  they  may  reach  the  desired  goal  easier 
than  the  old  ;  that  they  bear  in  mind  that  sticking  to 
the  old  ruts  is  only  the  right  policy  so  long  as  no 
better  way  presents  itself,  and  when  that  way  is 
discovered,  be  not  at  all  slow  to  improve  it.  If  you 
do  not,  others  more  enterprising  will  rush  forward  to 
reap  the  profits  it  promises,  and  you  will  be  left 
behind  in  the  race.  No  matter  what  your  position  in 
life  may  be  or  the  conditions  which  hem  you  in,  there 
will  be  a  "tide"  in  your  affairs,  "which,  taken  at  its 


138  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

flood,  leads  on  to  fortune."  But  you  must  be  ready 
to  accept  the  chance.  While  you  are  hesitating  and 
deliberating  the  occasion  goes  by,  in  most  cases 
never  to  return  again.  Therefore,  be  prompt  to  seize 
it  as  it  flies.  Cultivate  as  far  as  possible  the  spirit 
of  enterprise,  for  on  that  in  a  great  degree  depends 
your  success  or  failure. 


[NERGY  is  force  of  character,  inward  power.  It 
imports  such  a  concentration  of  the  will  upon 
the  realization  of  an  idea  as  to  impel  it  onward 
over  the  next  gigantic  barrier,  or  to  crush  every 
opposing  force  that  stands  in  the  way  of  its  triumph. 
Energy  knows  of  nothing  but  success.  It  will  not 
hearken  to  the  voice  of  discouragement ;  it  never 
yields  its  purpose.  Though  it  may  perish  beneath 
an  avalanche  of  difficulties,  yet  it  dies  contending  for 
its  ideal. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  mistake  of  a  young  man 
more  common  than  that  of  supposing  that,  in  the 
pursuits  of  life,  extraordinary  talents  are  necessary 
to  one  who  would  achieve  more  than  ordinary  suc- 
cess. There  is  no  greater  genius  than  the  genius  of 
energy  and  industry.  It  wins  the  prizes  of  life,  which 
appeared  destined  to  fall  to  those  brilliantly  consti- 
tuted minds,  who,  to  an  artificial  observer,  seemed 
to  be  the  favored  sons  of  fortune.  But  they  lacked 


ENERGY.  139 

energy,  and  in  that  want  lacked  all.  Energy  of  tem- 
perament, with  a  moderate  degree  of  wisdom,  will 
carry  a  man  farther  than  any  amount  of  intellect  with- 
out it.  It  gives  him  force,  momentum.  It  is  the  act- 
ive power  of  character,  and,  if  combined  with  sagacity 
and  self-possession,  will  enable  a  man  to  employ  his 
power  to  the  best  advantage  in  all  the  affairs  of  life. 
Hence  it  is  that  men  of  mediocre  power,  but  impelled 
by  energy  of  purpose,  have  often  been  able  to  accom- 
plish such  extraordinary  results. 

The  men  who  have  most  powerfully  influenced  the 
world  have  not  been  so  much  men  of  genius  as  men 
of  strong  convictions  and  enduring  capacity  for  work, 
impelled  by  irresistible  energy  and  invincible  deter- 
mination. Energy  of  will,  self-originating  force,  is  the 
soul  of  every  great  character.  Where  it  is,  there  is 
life  ;  where  it  is  not,  there  is  faintness,  helplessness, 
and  despondency.  There  is  a  proverb  which  says 
that  "the  strong  man  and  the  waterfall  channel  their 
own  path."  The  energetic  leader  of  noble  spirit  not 
only  wins  a  way  for  himself,  but  carries  others  with 
him.  His  very  act  has  a  personal  signification,  indi- 
cating vigor,  independence,  and  self-reliance,  and 
unconsciously  commands  respect,  admiration,  and 
homage.  Such  intrepidity  is  the  attribute  of  all  great 
leaders  of  men. 

There  is  a  difference  between  resolution  and  en- 
ergy. Resolution  is  the  purpose,  energy  is  the  qual- 
ity, and  it  is  possible  to  possess  much  resolution  with 
comparatively  very  little  energy.  Energy  implies  a 
,  settled,  and  unswerving  purpose;  but  resolution 


140  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

may  vary  its  inclination  a  thousand  ways  and  embrace 
a  thousand  objects,  keeping  up,  perhaps,  an  air  of 
steadiness  and  determination,  while,  in  reality,  noth- 
ing may  be  accomplished.  There  is  observable  the 
same  difference  between  resolution  and  energy  as 
there  is  between  kindness  and  goodness — kindness 
being  displayed  by  occasional  acts  of  good-will,  whilst 
goodness  exists  always,  by  a  principle  of  love.  Do 
not  make  the  mistake  of  confounding  energy  with 
rashness.  Energy  is  a  Bucephalus,  guided  by  the 
hand  of  an  Alexander.  Rashness  is  a  Mazeppa's 
fiery  steed,  unbridled  and  unrestrained,  bearing  its 
rider  over  hill  and  dale  to  probable  destruction.  The 
former  is  power  guided  by  wisdom  ;  the  latter  is 
power  goaded  to  action  by  blind  impulse. 

Energy,  to  reach  its  highest  development,  must 
be  controlled  by  wisdom.  Many  men  now  pining 
under  discouragement  have  expended  energy  suffi- 
cient for  the  highest  success.  But  they  have  failed 
of  their  reward  because  they  have  not  sought  counsel 
at  the  lips  of  wisdom.  Rash  enterprises  impetuously 
begun  hurry  them  on  to  ruin.  True  energy  is  ever 
the  same ;  but  the  energy  of  many  men  is  impulsive. 
It  is  to-day  a  destroying,  roaring  torrent ;  yesterday 
it  was  a  stagnant  pool.  An  accidental  circumstance 
will  call  out  every  power  of  their  soul,  and  for  a 
season  they  will  excel  themselves  and  startle  their 
friends.  But  they  speedily  expend  their  force,  and 
lapse  into  stupid  somnolency,  till  aroused  by  some 
bugle-blast  of  excitement.  Such  minds  accomplish 
but  little.  They  lose  more  in  their  slumbers  than 


ENERGY.  141 

they  gain  in  their  fitful  hours  of  action.  The  calm, 
steady  energy  of  the  snail,  slow  as  are  its  move- 
ments, is  better  calculated  to  produce  results  than 
the  spasmodic  leaps  of  the  hare.  Hence,  in  the  for- 
mation of  character,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
cultivate  a  steady,  uniform,  unyielding  energy.  The 
quiet  energy  that  works  to  accomplishment  is  what 
rules  the  world.  There  is  more  energy  shown  in 
quietly  doing  your  duty  through  years  of  patient  toil 
than  to  rush  with  great  clamor  at  the  obstacles  of 
life,  only  to  relinquish  the  attempt  if  success  does  not 
immediately  crown  the  effort.  The  game  of  life  is 
won  less  by  brilliant  strokes  than  by  energetic  yet 
cautious  play. 

Energy  of  character  has  always  a  power  to  make 
energy  in  others.  The  zealous,  energetic  man  un- 
consciously carries  others  along  with  him.  His  ex- 
ample is  contagious,  and  compels  imitation.  He 
exercises  a  sort  of  electric  power,  which  sends  a  thrill 
through  every  fiber,  flows  into  the  nature  of  those 
about  him,  and  makes  them  throw  out  sparks  of 
power.  But  such  men  are  but  few ;  and  for  one  man 
that  appears  on  the  stage  of  human  affairs  that  can 
rule  events  there  are  thousands  who  follow.  The 
earnest  men  are  so  few  in  the  world  that  their  very 
earnestness  becomes  at  once  the  badge  of  their  no- 
bility ;  and  as  the  men  in  a  crowd  instinctively  make 
room  for  one  who  seems  to  force  his  way  through  it, 
so  mankind  every-where  open  their  ranks  to  one  who 
rushes  valiantly  toward  some  object  lying  beyond 
them. 


142  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Man  is  but  a  feeble  being,  but  he  belittles  his 
high  estate  unless  he  puts  forth  his  exertion,  and 
forms  a  commendable  and  heroic  resolution  not  to 
permit  life  to  pass  away  in  trifles,  but  to  accomplish 
something  in  spite  of  obstacles.  At  difficulties  be 
not  dismayed.  We  may  magnify  them  by  weakness 
and  despondency,  when  an  heroic  spirit  would  have 
put  them  to  flight.  There  are  cobble-stones  in  every 
road  and  pebbles  in  every  path.  All  have  cares,  dis- 
appointments, and  stumbling-blocks.  It  were  well  to 
remember,  though,  that  sobs  and  cries,  groans  and 
regrets  are  of  no  avail,  but  that  high  resolves  and 
courageous  actions  may  with  safety  be  relied  on  to 
do  much  to  lighten  life's  load.  He  who  never  grap- 
pled with  the  emergencies  of  life  knows  not  what 
power  lives  in  the  soul  to  repel  the  rude  shocks  of 
time  and  destiny,  nor  is  he  conscious  how  much  he  is 

"Blest  with  a  kindly  faculty  to  blunt 
The  edge  of  adverse  circumstances." 

All  traditions  current  among  young  men  that  cer- 
tain great  characters  have  wrought  their  greatness  by 
an  inspiration,  as  it  were,  grows  out  of  a  sad  mistake. 
There  is  no  inspiration  so  potent  for  good  as  the  in- 
spiration of  energy.  There  are  none  who  wrest 
such  conquests  from  fame  as  those  earnest,  deter- 
mined minds,  who  reckon  the  value  of  every  hour, 
and  rely  on  their  own  strong  arm  to  achieve  their 
ambitious  resolves.  You  can  not  dream  yourself 
into  a  character ;  you  must  hammer  and  forge  your- 
self one.  But  remember,  there  is  always  room  for 


ENERGY.  143 

a  man  of  force,  and  he  makes  room  for  many.  It  is 
a  Spanish  proverb  that  "he  who  loseth  wealth  loseth 
much;  he  who  loseth  a  friend  loseth  more;  but  he 
who  loseth  energy  loseth  all."  It  is  folly  for  a  man 
or  woman  to  sit  down  in  mid-life  discouraged.  True, 
*.t  is  a  severe  test  of  character  calmly  to  reflect  that 
..ife  has  thus  far  proved  a  failure,  but  it  does  no  good 
to  abandon  one's  self  to  despair.  With  energy  and 
God's  blessing  it  is  possible  they  may  yet  win  a 
glorious  victory.  God  in  his  wisdom  has  seen  fit  to 
so  ordain  that  life  with  all  shall  be  a  scene  of  labor. 
To  make  the  most  of  it,  it  is  necessary  to  make  the 
aim  high  and  noble,  the  energy  unflagging.  No  mat- 
ter how  apparently  solid  the  foundations  on  which  we 
stand,  it  often  happens  that  by  the  remission  of  labor 
and  energy,  poverty  and  contempt,  disaster  and  de- 
feat steal  a  march  upon  prosperity  and  honor,  and 
overwhelm  us  with  remorse  and  shame. 

It  is  energy  that  makes  the  difference  in  men.  It 
is  the  genius  of  persevering  energy  that  carries  so 
many  me"  straight  to  the  goal  of  success.  It  is 
energy  that  sueds  the  light  of  hope  on  pathways  that 
had  been  lost  save  for  that,  and  thus  enables  so  many 
men  and  women  to  persevere  therein.  It  is  en- 
ergy that  calls  upon  all — and  calls  upon  you — to 
rouse  yourself.  Would  you  make  a  success  of  life  ? 
Would  you  acquire  fortune  or  renown?  It  bids  you 
take  heart  and  hope  for  the  best.  It  bids  you  walk 
in  the  paths  of  patience,  to  do  with  all  your  might 
what  you  have  marked  out  as  necessary  to  do.  It 
bids  you  pursue  it  with  resolution  and  vigor. 


144  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

A  young  man  is,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune.  Rely  upon  your  own 
strength  of  body  and  soul.  Remember  that  the  man 
who  wills  it  can  go  almost  anywhere  or  do  almost  any 
thing  he  determines  to  do.  You  must  make  yourself, 
or  come  to  nothing.  You  must  win  by  your  owr. 
exertions,  and  not  wait  for  some  one  to  come  to  your 
assistance.  Take  for  your  star  self-reliance,  faith, 
honesty,  and  industry.  Keep  at  the  helm,  and,  above 
all,  remember  that  the  great  art  of  commanding  is  to 
do  a  fair  share  of  the  work  yourself.  The  greater 
the  difficulty  the  more  the  glory  in  surmounting  it. 
Skillful  pilots  gain  their  reputation  from  storms  and 
tempests.  The  soul  of  every  great  achievement  is 
energy;  but  enervation  and  indolence  sap  its  life,  and 
doom  the  man  to  obscurity  and  ill-success.  Men  of 
feeble  action  are  accustomed  to  attribute  their  misfor- 
tune to  what  is  termed  ill  luck.  They  envy  the  men 
who  climb  the  ladder  of  eminence,  and  call  them  lucky 
men  and  men  of  peculiar  opportunity.  This  is  a  vain 
and  foolish  imagination.  Energy  produces  good  for- 
tune and  success,  while  enervation  breeds  misfortune 
and  ill  luck. 

Fortune,  success,  fame,  position  are  never  gained 
but  by  determinedly  and  bravely  persevering  in  any 
course  until  the  plans  are  finally  accomplished.  In 
short,  you  must  carry  a  thing  through  if  you  want  to 
be  any  body  or  any  thing,  no  matter  if  it  does  cost 
you  the  pleasure  of  society,  the  thousand  pearly 
gratifications  of  life.  Stick  to  the  thing  and  carry  it 
through.  Believe  you  were  made  for  the  matter,  and 


PUNCTUALITY.  145 

that  tio  one  else  could  do  it.  Put  forth  your  whole 
energies.  Be  awake;  electrify  yourself;  go  forth  to 
the  task.  Learn  to  carry  it  through,  and  you  will  be 
a  hero.  You  will  think  better  of  yourself.  Others 
will  think  better  of  you.  The  world  in  its  very  heart 
admires  the  stern,  determined  doer.  It  sees  in  him 
its  best  sights,  its  brightest  objects,  its  richest  treas- 
ures. Proceed  with  energy,  then,  in  whatever  you 
undertake.  Consider  yourself  amply  sufficient  for 
the  deed,  and  you  will  succeed. 


iMONGST  the  elements  which  conduce  to  suc- 
cess in  life  there  is  one  of  rare  value,  which, 
by  some  strange  oversight,  is  classed  as  of 
little  account.  We  refer  to  punctuality.  We 
regard  it  as  a  virtue.  To  be  punctual  in  all  of  your 
appointments  is  a  duty  resting  upon  you  no  less 
obligatory  than  the  duty  of  common  honesty.  An 
appointment  is  a  contract,  and  if  you  do  not  keep 
it  you  are  dishonestly  using  other  people's  time,  and, 
consequently,  their  money.  "  Punctuality,"  says  Louis 
XIV,  "is  the  politeness  of  kings."  He  need  not 
have  confined  his  remarks  to  blood  royal ;  it  is  po- 
liteness in  every  uody ;  and  know  that  whenever  you 
fail  to  meet  an  engagement  promptly,  which  by  exer- 
tion you  might  have  done,  you  are  guilty  of  a  gross 
breach  of  etiquette. 


146  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

It  is  certainly  impolite  to  do  a  wrong  to  others 
and  when  you  have  made  an  appointment  with  an 
other  person  you  owe  him  punctuality,  and  you  hav^ 
no  right  to  waste  his  time  if  you  have  your  own. 
Success  and  happiness  depend  in  a  far  higher  de 
gree  on  punctuality  than  many  suppose.  It  is  no*, 
sufficient  to  do  the  right  thing,  nor  in  the  right  way. 
but  it  must  be  done  at  the  right  time  as  well,  if  we 
would  reap  the  rewards  of  our  labor.  But  when  so 
done  its  effect  in  the  problem  of  success  is  great  an  1 
efficacious.  Lord  Nelson  attributed  all  his  success  \n 
life  to  his  habit  of  strict  punctuality.  Many  of  our 
most  successful  business  men  date  their  success  frcrr^ 
the  time  they  commenced  to  practice  this  virtue. 
Thousands  have  failed  in  life  from  carelessness  in 
this  respect  alone.  Nothing  inspires  confidence  in  a 
business  man  sooner  than  this  quality ;  nor  is  there 
any  habit  which  sooner  saps  his  reputation  as  a  £;ood 
business  man  than  that  of  being  always  behind  time. 

Lack  of  punctuality  is  not  only  a  serious  vice  in 
itself,  but  it  is  also  the  parent  of  a  large  progeny  of 
other  vices.  Hence  he  who  becomes  its  victim  is  the 
more  and  more  involved  in  toils  from  which  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  escape.  He  who  needlessly 
breaks  his  appointments  shows  that  he  is  as  reckless 
of  the  waste  of  other  people's  time  as  of  his  own. 
His  acquaintances  readily  conclude  that  the  man  who 
is  'not  conscientious  about  his  appointments  will  be 
equa'Hy  careless  about  his  other  engagements,  and 
they  will  refuse  to  trust  him  with  matters  of  impor- 
tance. To  the  busy  man  time  is  money,  and  he  who 


PUNCTUA  LITY.  147 

robs  him  of  it  does  him  as  great  an  injury,  as  far 
as  loss  of  property  is  concerned,  as  if  he  had 
picked  his  pockets  or  paid  him  with  a  forged  or 
counterfeit  bill. 

"  It  is  a  familiar  truth  that  punctuality  is  the  life  of 
the  universe.  The  planets  keep  exact  time  in  their 
revolutions,  each  as  it  circles  around  the  sun  coming 
to  its  place  yearly  at  the  very  moment  it  is  due. 
So;  in  business,  punctuality  is  the  soul  of  industry, 
without  which  all  its  wheels  come  to  a  dead  stand. 
If  the  time  of  a  business  man  be  properly  occupied 
every  hour  will  have  its  appropriate  work.  If  the 
work  of  one  hour  be  postponed  to  another  it  must 
encroach  upon  the  time  of  some  other  duty,  or  re- 
main undone,  and  thus  the  whole  business  of  the  day 
is  thrown  into  disorder.  If  that  which  is  first  at 
hand  be  not  instantly,  steadily,  and  regularly  dis- 
patched other  things  accumulate  behind,  till  affairs 
begin  to  accumulate  all  at  once,  and  no  human  brain 
can  stand  the  pressure. 

Punctuality  should  be  made  not  only  a  point  of 
courtesy  but  a  point  of  conscience.  The  beginner  in 
business  should  make  this  virtue  one  of  the  first  ob- 
jects of  professional  acquisition.  Let  him  not  deceive 
himself  with  the  idea  that  it  is  easy  of  attainment,  or 
that  lie  can  practice  it  by  and  by,  when  the  necessity 
of  it  shall  be  more  cogent.  If  in  youth  it  is  not  easy 
to  be  punctual,  then  in  after  life,  when  the  character 
is  fixed,  when  the  mental  and  moral  faculties  have 
acquired  a  rigidity,  to  unlearn  the  habit  of  tardi- 
ness is  almost  an  impossibility.  It  still  holds  a  man 


148  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

enthralled,  though  the  reason  be  fully  convinced  of 
its  criminality  and  inconvenience. 

A  right  estimate  of  the  value  of  time  is  the  best 
'and  surest  foundation  for  habits  of  punctuality,  for 
you  are  not  likely  to  economize  time,  either  for  yo'ur- 
self  or  others,  unless  you  fully  realize  how  valuable 
it  is,  and  when  lost  how  utterly  irreclaimable.  The 
successful  men  in  every  calling  have  had  a  keen  sense 
of  the  value  of  time — they  have  been  misers  of  min- 
utes. Hence  you  must  try  and  realize  the  value  of 
time.  Each  hour,  as  it  passes  swiftly  away,  is  gone 
forever.  Lost  wealth  may  be  replaced  by  toil  and 
industry;  lost  friends  may  be  regained  by  con^idera- 
tion  and  patience ;  lost  health  may  be  recovered  by 
medical  skill  and  care ;  even  lost  happiness  and 
peace  of  mind  may  be  restored ;  but  lost  time,  never. 
Whilst  you  read  these  lines  it  is  being  numbered  with 
the  dead  past  and  dying  present.  There  is  no  recall- 
ing it ;  there  is  no  regaining  it ;  there  is  no  restoring 
it.  You  must  make  the  most  of  time  as  it  flies.  You 
have  no  right  to  waste  your  own,  still  less,  then,  that 
of  others,  by  your  lack  of  punctuality. 

Not  only  should  a  person  be  thus  punctual  in  all 
his  .express  engagements  and  appointments,  but  in 
.ill  his  implied  ones  as  well.  If  he  has  a  regular 
hour  for  his  shop  or  office,  let  it  find  him  there,  at 
his  desk  and  at  work.  Punctuality  in  the  perform- 
ance of  known  duties  other  than  the  keeping  of  ap- 
pointments is  also  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of 
success  in  life.  If  a  certain  work  or  other  duty  is  tc 
be  performed,  we  are  too  prone  to  put  it  off  for  a 


PUNCTUALITY.  149 

more  convenient  season.  Such  delays  are  often  a 
fruitful  source  of  after  troubles.  How  many  business 
men  have  been  brought  to  bankruptcy  and  ruin  by  the 
failure  of  one  man  to  meet  his  obligations  promptly ! 
How  many  times  are  we  put  to  great  work  and  ex- 
pense because  we  neglected,  or  put  off,  the  perform- 
ance of  admitted  duties  !  It  is  easy  to  say,  "  Wait 
awhile  ;"  so  eary  to  let  the  burden  of  to-day's  work 
and  duties  fall  on  to-morrow.  But  when  to-morrow 
comes  it  has  its  own  peculiar  duties,  and  the  result 
is,  we  simply  have  extra  burdens  to  meet  when  the 
time  finally  comes  that  our  work  can  no  longer  be 
delayed. 

Punctuality  is  a  virtue  that  can  give  force  and 
power  to  an  otherwise  utterly  insignificant  character. 
Like  charity,  it  covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  It  were 
easy  to  show  by  examples  from  the  lives  of  great 
men  that  their  success  in  life  was  owing  in  a  large 
measure  to  their  habits  of  punctuality.  All  great 
commanders  have  possessed  this  faculty  in  an  emi- 
nent degree.  The  reason  punctuality  is  such  an  in- 
variable element  of  success  is  not  hard  to  determine. 
The  punctual  person,  one  who  always  lives  up  to  his 
engagements,  and  is  prompt  in  fulfilling  his  implied 
duties  as  well,  is  just  the  person  whose  business  is 
conducted  after  the  most  approved  forms  and  meth- 
ods. They  are  the  ones  who  have  time  at  their  dis- 
posal to  cast  their  eyes  over  the  field  of  legitimate 
enterprise,  and  at  once  adopt  whitever  may  seem  to 
them  to  possess  rea1  excellence.  Having  m^t  all 
thoir  engagements  promptly,  their  word  is  as  ^ood 


150  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

as  their  bond,  their  credit  unshaken  ;  in  short,  every 
avenue  of  success  is  open  to  them. 

But  with  those  persons  who  are  habitually  behind 
in  the  fulfillment  of  their  duties,  their  business  is 
generally  in  a  very  unsettled  state.  They  have  not 
that  freshness  and  business  vivacity  and  life  which  is 
always  observable  in  the  man  who  drives  his  business 
instead  of  allowing  it  to  drive  him.  What  wonder, 
then,  that  they  sink  beneath  the  load  of  accumulated 
cares,  give  up  the  great  battle  of  life  in  despair,  and 
are  content  to  fill  a  subordinate  place  in  the  economy 
of  the  world  ?  Would  that  young  men  thought  more 
of  what  is  involved  in  punctuality  !  It  is  not  merely 
the  "being  on  time,"  but  it  imports  such  a  habit 
that,  carried  into  life,  it  is  one  of  the  main  instru- 
ments in  making  real  youthful  dreams  of  success.  It 
is  that  which  makes  business  a  pleasure  instead  of  a 
drudgery.  It  is  that" which  goes  so  far  in  building 
up  a  reputation  of  sagacity,  skill,  and  integrity. 

No  one  can  have  a  high  opinion  of  a  person  who 
is  so  regardless  of  punctuality,  even  in  small  matters, 
as  to  be  continually  breaking  his  word,  under  the 
impression  that  "  it  is  of  no  consequence,"  as  so 
many  often  say,  to  excuse  their  habit  of  being  false 
to  their  word.  There  are  some  persons  who  seldom, 
or  never,  do  as  they  promised.  We  know  persons, 
who  in  other  respects  are  worthy  people,  who  can 
scarcely  command  confidence,  because  they  are  so 
slack  in  fulfilling  their  engagements  and  meeting 
their  obligations  in  small  matters.  We  know  young 
men  of  promise  who  are  daily  losing  ground  among 


CONCENTRATION.  151 

their  acquaintances  for  a  similar  reason.  A  man  will 
soon  ruin  himself  this  way.  In  all  business  transac- 
tions, in  all  engagements,  let  all  do  exactly  as  they 
say, — be  punctual  to  the  minute ;  even  a  little  before- 
hand is  far  preferable  to  being  a  little  behind  ti_ne. 
Such  a  habit  secures  a  composure  which  is  essential 
to  happiness. 


this  day,  when  so  many  things  are  clamoring 
for  attention,  the  first  law  of  success  may  be  said 
to  be  concentration.  It  is  impossible  to  be  suc- 
cessful in  every  branch  of  business,  or  renowned 
in  every  department  of  a  professional  life.  We  must 
learn  to  bend  our  energies  to  one  point,  and  to  go 
directly  to  that  point,  looking  neither  to  the  right  nor 
to  the  left.  It  has  been  said  that  a  great  deal  of  the 
wisdom  of  a  man  in  this  century  is  shown  in  leaving 
things  unknown,  and  a  great  deal  of  his  practical 
ability  in  leaving  things  undone.  The  day  of  univer- 
sal scholarships  is  past.  Life  is  short,  and  art  is 
long.  The  range  of  human  wisdom  has  increased  so 
enormously  that  no  human  brain  can  grapple  with  it, 
and  the  man  who  would  know  one  thing  well  must 
have  the  courage  to  be  ignorant  of  a  thousand  other 
things,  however  attractive  or  interesting.  As  with 
knowledge,  so  with  work.  The  man  who  would  get 
along  must  single  out  his  specialty,  and  into  that 


152  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

must  pour  the  whole  stream  of  his  activity — all  the 
energies  of  his  hand,  eye,  tongue,  heart,  and  brain. 
Broad  culture,  many-sidedness,  are  beautiful  things 
to  contemplate  ;  but  it  is  the  narrow-edged  men — the 
me  a  of  one  single  and  intense  purpose — who  steeT 
the  soul  against  all  things  else,  that  accomplish  the 
hard  work  of  the  world. 

The  great  men  of  every  age  who  have  had  the 
arduous  task  to  shape  human  destiny  have  been  men 
of  one  idea  impelled  by  resolute  energy.  Take 
those  names  that  are  historic,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  great  creative  minds,  you  find  them  to  be 
men  who  are  identified  with  some  one  achievement 
upon  which  their  life  force  was  spent.  The  great 
majority  of  men  must  concentrate  their  energies  upon 
the  complete  mastery  of  some  one  profession,  trade, 
or  calling,  or  they  will  experience  the  disappointment 
of  those  whose  empire  has  been  lost  in  the  ambition 
of  universal  conquest.  A  man  may  have  the  most 
dazzling  talents,  but  if  they  are  scattered  upon  many 
objects  he  will  accomplish  nothing.  Strength  is  like 
gunpowder:  to  be  effective  it  needs  concentration 
and  aim.  The  marksman  who  aims  at  the  whole  tar- 
get will  seldom  hit  the  center.  The  literary  man  or 
philosopher  may  revel  among  the  sweetest  and  most 
beautiful  flowers  of  thought,  but  unless  he  gathers  or 
condenses  these  in  the  honeycomb  of  some  great 
thought  or  work,  his  finest  conceptions  will  be  lost 
or  useless. 

The  worH  has  few  univeisal  ^enius'js  who  arc 
capable  of  mastering  a  dozen  languages,  arts,  or 


CONCENTRATION.  153 

sciences,  or  driving  a  dozen  callings  abreast.  Be- 
ginners in  life  are  perpetually  complaining  of  the  dis- 
advantages under  which  they  labor;  but  it  is  an 
indisputable  fact  that  more  persons  fail  from  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  pursuits  and  pretensions  than  from  a 
poverty  of  resources.  "The  one  prudence  in  life," 
says  a  shrewd  American  essayist,  "is  concentration, 
the  one  evil  is  dissipation  ;  and  it  makes  no  difference 
whether  our  dissipations  are  coarse  or  fine,  property 
and  its  cares,  friends  and  a  social  habit,  politics, 
music,  or  feasting.  Every  thing  is  good  which  takes 
away  one  plaything  and  delusion  more,  and  drives  us 
home  to  add  one  stroke  of  faithful  work."  The 
gardener  does  not  suffer  the  sap  to  be  driven  into  a 
thousand  channels  merely  to  develop  a  myriad  of 
profitless  twigs.  He  prunes  the  branches,  and  leaves 
the  vital  juices  to  be  absorbed  by  a  few  vigorous, 
fruit-bearing  branches. 

While  the  highest  ability  accomplishes  but  little 
if  scattered  on  a  multiplicity  of  objects,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  one  has  but  a  thimbleful  of  brains,  and  con- 
centrates them  upon  the  thing  he  has  in  hand,  he  may 
achieve  miracles.  Momentum  in  physics,  if  properly 
directed,  will  drive  a  tallow  candle  through  an  inch 
board.  Just  so  will  oneness  of  aim  and  the  direction 
of  the  energies  to  a  single  pursuit,  while  all  others 
are  waived,  enable  the  veriest  weakling  to  make  his 
mark  where  he  strikes.  The  general  who  scatters 
his  soldiers  all  about  the  country  insures  defeat ;  so 
does  he,  whose  attention  is  diffused  through  innumer- 
able channels,  so  that  it  can  not  gather  in  force  on 


154  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

any  one  point.  The  human  mind,  in  short,  resembles 
a  burning-glass,  whose  rays  are  intense  only  as  they 
are  concentrated.  As  the  glass  burns  only  when  its 
rays  are  converged  to  a  focal  point,  so  the  former 
illumes  the  world  of  science,  literature,  or  business 
only  when  it  is  directed  to  a  solitary  object.  What 
is  more  powerless  than  the  scattered  clouds  of  steam 
as  they  rise  to  the  sky?  They  are  as  impotent  as 
the  dew-drop  that  falls  nightly  upon  the  earth ;  but 
concentrated  and  condensed  in  a  steam  boiler  they 
are  able  to  cut  through  solid  rock,  to  hurl  mountains 
into  the  sea,  and  to  bring  the  antipodes  to  our  doors. 
It  is  the  lack  of  concentration  and  wholeness 
which  distinguishes  the  shabby,  half-hearted,  and 
blundering — the  men  who  make  the  mob  of  life — 
from  those  who  win  victories.  In  slower  times  suc- 
cess might  have  been  won  by  the  man  who  gave  but 
a  corner  of  his  brain  to  the  work  in  hand,  but  in 
these  days  of  keen  competition  it  demands  the  in- 
tensest  application  of  the  thinking  faculty.  Exclusive 
dealings  in  worldly  pursuits  is  a  principle  of  hundred- 
headed  power.  By  dividing  his  time  among  too 
many  objects,  a  man  of  genius  often  becomes  diamond 
dust  instead  of  diamond.  The  time  spent  by  many 
persons  in  profitless,  desultory  reading  would,  if  con- 
Generated  upon  a  single  line  of  study,  have  made 
them  masters  of  an  entire  branch  of  literature  or 
science.  Distraction  of  pursuits  is  the  rock  upon 
which  most  unsuccessful  persons  split  in  early  life. 
In  law,  in  medicine,  in  trade,  in  the  mechanical  pro 
fessions  the  most  successful  persons  have  been  those 


CONCENTRATION.  155 

who  have  stuck  to  one  thing.  Nine  out  of  ten  men 
lay  out  their  plans  on  too  vast  a  scale,  and  they  who 
are  competent  to  do  almost  any  thing  do  nothing, 
because  they  never,  make  up  their  minds  distinctly  as 
to  what  they  want  or  what  they  intend  to  be. 

We  are  often  compelled  to  a  choice  of  acquisi- 
tions, for  there  are  some  things  the  possession  of 
which  is  incompatible  with  the  possession  of  others, 
and  the  sooner  this  truth  is  known  and  recognized 
the  better  the  chances  of  success  and  happiness. 
Much  material  good  must  be  resigned  if  we  would 
attain  the  highest  degree  of  moral  excellence,  and 
many  spiritual  joys  must  be  foregone  if  we  resolve  at 
all  risks  to  win  great  material  advantages.  To  strive 
for  a  high  personal  position,  and  yet  expect  to  have 
all  the  delights  of  leisure ;  to  labor  for  vast  riches, 
and  yet  to  ask  for  freedom  from  anxiety  and  care, 
and  all  the  happiness  which  flows  from  a  contented 
mind ;  to  indulge  in  sensual  gratifications,  and  yet 
demand  health,  strength,  and  vigor;  to  live  for  self, 
and  yet  to  look  for  the  joys  that  spring  from  a  vir- 
tuous and  self-denying  life — is  to  ask  for  impossi- 
bilities. 

If  you  start  for  success  you  must  expect  to  pay 
its  price.  It  can  not  be  won  by  feeble,  half-way 
efforts,  neither  is  it  to  be  acquired  because  sought 
for  in  a  dozen  different  directions.  It  demands  that 
you  bring  to  your  chosen  profession  or  calling  energy, 
industry,  and,  above  all,  that  singleness  of  purpose 
which  is  willing  to  devote  the  energies  of  a  life-time 
to  its  accomplishment.  Mere  wishing  and  sighing 


156  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

brings  it  not.  Many  little  calls  of  society  on  your 
time  must  pass  unheeded.  You  can  not  expect  to 
live  tranquilly  and  at  your  ease,  but  to  be  up  and 
doing,  with  all  your  energies  devoted  to  the  one 
point  kept  constantly  in  view.  Cultivate  this  habit 
;cf  concentration  if  you  would  succeed  in  business  ; 
make  it  a  second  nature.  Have  a  work  for  every 
moment,  and  mind  the  moment's  work.  Whatever 
your  calling,  master  all  its  bearings  and  details,  all 
its  principles,  instruments,  and  applications.  We  have 
so  much  work  ahead  of  us  that  must  be  done  if  we 
would  reach  the  point  desired  that  we  must  save  our 
strength  as  much  as  possible.  Concentration  affords 
a  great  safe-guard  against  exhaustion.  He  who  scat- 
ters himself  on  many  objects  soon  loses  his  energy, 
and  with  his  energy  his  enthusiasm — and  how  is  suc- 
cess possible  without  enthusiasm? 

It  becomes,  then,  of  importance  to  be  sure  we 
have  started  right  in  the  race  for  distinction.  Every 
beginner  in  life  should  strive  early  to  ascertain  the 
strong  faculty  of  his  mind  or  body  fitting  him  for 
some  special  pursuit,  and  direct  his  utmost  energies 
to  .bring  it  to  perfection.  There  is  no  adaptation  or 
universal  applicability  in  man  ;  but  each  has  his  special 
talent,  and  the  mastery  of  successful  men  is  in 
adroitly  keeping  themselves  where  and  when  that 
turn  shall  need  oftenest  to  be  practiced. 

Though  one  must  be  wholly  absorbed  to  win  suc- 
cess, sail  singleness  of  aim  by  no  me; ins  implies 
mo'iotcny  of  action;  bat  if  \\e  would  be  felt  or  this 
st'rrinj;  planet,  if  we  would  strike  the  world  with 


CONCENTRATION.  157 

lasting  force,  we  must  be  men  of  one  thing.  Having 
found  the  thing  we  have  to  do  we  must  throw  into 
it  all  the  energies  of  our  being,  seeking  its  accom- 
plishment at  whatever  hazard  or  sacrifice.  But  that 
does  not  prevent  us  from  participating  in  the  enjoy- 
ments of  life.  If  you  are  sent  on  business  to  some 
foreign  land,  though  bent  on  business,  still  you  can 
admire,  as  you  hurry  along,  the  beautiful  scenery 
from  the  car  windows ;  you  can  note  the  strange 
places  through  which  you  pass ;  you  can  observe  the 
wondrous  sublimity  of  the  ocean  without  being  dis- 
tracted from  the  main  objects  of  your  travels.  So 
it  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  what  has  been  said 
that  concentration  means  isolation  or  self-absorption. 
There  may  be  a  hundred  accessories  in  life,  provided 
they  contribute  to  one  result. 

In  urging  the  importance  of  concentration,  and 
of  sticking  to  one  thing,  we  do  not  mean  that  any 
man  should  be  a  mere  lawyer,  a  mere  doctor,  or 
a  mere  merchant  or  mechanic,  and  nothing  more. 
These  are  cases  of  one-sidedness  pushed  too  far. 
There  is  no  more  pitiable  wreck  than  the  man 
whose  one  giant  faculty  has  drowned  the  rest.  Man 
dwarfs  himself  if  he  pushes  too  far  the  doctrine  of 
the  subdivision  of  labor.  Success  is  purchased  too 
clear  if  to  attain  it  one  has  subordinated  all  his  fac- 
ulties and  tastes  to  one  master  passion,  and  become 
transformed  into  a  head,  a  hand,  or  an  arm,  instead  of 
a  man.  Every  man  ought  to  be  something  more  than 
a  factor  in  some  grand  formula  of  social  or  econom- 
ical science,  a  cog  or  pulley  in  some  grand  machine. 


158  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Let  every  one  take  care,  first  of  all,  to  be  a  man, 
cultivating  and  developing,'  as  far  as  possible,  all  of 
his  powers  on  a  symmetrical  plan;  and  then  let  him 
expend  his  chief  labors  on  the  one  -faculty,  which 
nature,  by  making  it  prominent,  has  given  a  hint 
should  be  especially  cultivated.  There  is,  indeed,  nc 
profession  upon  which  a  high  degree  of  knowledge 
will  not  continually  bear.  Things  which,  at  first 
glance,  seem  most  remote  from  it  w7ill  often  be 
brought  into  close  approximation  to  it,  and  acqui- 
sitions which  the  narrow-minded  might  deem  a  hin- 
drance will  sooner  or  later  yield  something  servicea- 
ble. Nothing  is  more  beautiful  than  to  see  a  man 
hold  his  art,  trade,  or  calling  in  an  easy,  disengaged 
way,  wearing  it  as  the  soldier  does  his  sword,  which, 
once  laid  aside,  the  accomplished  soldier  gives  you 
no  hint  that  he  has  ever  worn.  Too  often  this  is  not 
the  case,  and  the  shop-keeper  irresistibly  reminds 
you  of  the  shop,  and  the  scholar,  who  should  remind 
you  that  he  has  been  on  Parnassus  only  by  the  odors 
of  the  flowers  he  has  crushed,  which  cling  to  his 
feet,  affronts  you  with  a  huge  nosegay  stuck  in  his 
bosom. 

One  can  make  all  his  energies  bear  on  one  im- 
portant point  and  yet  show  himself  a  man  among 
men  by  his  interest  in  matters  of  public  concern. 
He  can  endear  himself  to  the  community  by  kindly 
acts  to  the  distressed,  as  well  as  completely  master- 
ing, in  all  its  bearings,  the  one  great  work  which  he 
has  taken  upon  himself  as  his  life's  work.  Then 
take  up  your  task.  Remember  that  you  must  mar- 


DECISION.  159 

ohall  all  your  forces  at  one  point,  and  move  in  one 
direction,  if  you  would  accomplish  what  your  desires 
have  painted ;  but  also  remember  that  you  are  a 
human  being,  and  not  a  machine,  and  that  as  you 
pass  on  the  journey  of  life  you  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  without  insuring  defeat,  take  note  of  the 
wonders  which  nature  has  spread  before  you,  should  . 
ponder  on  what  history  says  of  the  past,  should 
muse  over  the  solemn  import  of  life,  and  thus,  while 
winning  laurels  for  your  brow,  and  achieving  your 
heart's  desire,  develop  in  you  the  faculties  which  go 
to  make,  in  its  complete  meaning,  a  man  or  woman. 


iHERE  is  one  quality  of  mind  which  of  all  others 
is  most  likely  to  make  our  fortunes  if  combined 
with  talents,  or  to  ruin  them  without  it.  We 
allude  to  that  quality  of  the  mind  which  under 
given  circumstances  acts  with  a  mathematical  preci- 
sion. With  such  minds  to  resolve  and  to  act  is 
instantaneous.  They  seem  to  precede  the  march  of 
events,  to  foresee  results  in  the  chrysalis  of  their  causes, 
and  to  seize  that  moment  for  exertion  which  others 
use  in  deliberation.  There  are  occasions  when  action 
must  be  taken  at  once.  There  is  no  time  to  long 
and  carefully  calculate  the  chances.  The  occasion 
calls  for  immediate  action ;  and  the  call  must  be  met, 
or  the  time  goes  by,  and  our  utmost  exertions  can  not 


160  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

bring  it  back.  At  such  times  is  seen  the  triumph  of 
those  who  have  carefully  trained  all  their  faculties  to 
a  habit  of  prompt  decision.  They  seize  the  occasion, 
and  make  the  thought  start  into  instant  action  ;  they 
at  once  plan  and  perform,  resolve  and  execute. 

It  is  but  a  truism  to  say  that  there  can  be  no  suc- 
cess in  life  without  decision .  of  character.  Even 
brains  are  secondary  in  importance  to  will.  The 
intellect  is  but  the  half  of  a  man;  the  will  is  the 
driving-wheel,  the  spring  of  motive  power.  A  vacil- 
lating man,  no  matter  what  his  abilities,  is  invariably 
pushed  aside  in  the  race  of  life  by  one  of  determined 
will.  It  is  he  who  resolves  to  succeed,  and  at  every 
fresh  rebuff  begins  resolutely  again,  that  reaches  the 
goal.  The  shores  of  fortune  are  covered  with  the 
stranded  wrecks  of  men  of  brilliant  abilities,  but  who 
have  wanted  courage,  faith,  and  decision,  and  have 
therefore  perished  in  sight  of  more  resolute,  but  less 
capable  adventurers,  who  succeeded  in  making  port. 
Hundreds  of  men  go  to  their  graves  in  obscurity 
who  have  remained  obscure  only  because  they  lacked 
the  pluck  to  make  the  first  effort,  and  who,  could 
they  only  have  resolved  to  begin,  would  have  aston- 
ished the  world  by  their  achievements  and  successes. 

To  do  any  thing  in  this  world  that  is  worth  doing 
we  must  not  stand  shivering  on  the  bank,  and  think- 
ing of  the  cold  and  the  danger,  but  jump  in  and 
scramble  through  as  well  as  we  can.  The  world  was 
not  made  for  slow,  squeamish,  fastidious  mer*,  but  for 
those  who  act  promptly  and  with  power.  Obstacles 
and  perplexities  every  man  must  meet,  and  he  mu^t 


DECISION.  161 

either  conquer  them  or  they  will  conquer  him.  Hesi- 
tation is  a  sign  of  weakness,  for  inasmuch  as  the 
comparative  good  and  evil  of  the  different  modes  of 
action  about  which  we  hesitate  are  seldom  equally 
balanced,  a  strong  mind  should  perceive  the  slightest 
inclination  of  the  beam  with  the  glance  of  .an  eagle, 
particularly  as  there  will  be  cases  where  the  prepon- 
derance will  be  very  minute,  even  though  there  should 
be  life  in  one  scale  and  death  in  the  other.  It  is 
better  occasionally  to  decide  wrong  than  to  be  for- 
ever wavering  and  hesitating,  now  veering  to  this 
side  and  then  to  that,  with  all  the  misery  and  disaster 
that  follow  from  continual  doubt. 

It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  great  moral  vic- 
tories and  defeats  of  the  world  often  turn  on  minutes. 
Fortune  is  proverbially  a  fickle  jade,  and  there  is 
nothing  like  promptness  of  action,  the  timing  of 
things  at  the  lucky  moment,  to  force  her  to  surrender 
her  favors.  Crises  come,  the  seizing  of  which  is 
triumph,  the  neglect  of  which  is  ruin.  It  is  this  lack 
of  promptness,  so  characteristic  of  the  gladiatorial 
intellect,  of  this  readiness  to  meet  every  attack  of 
ill-fortune  with  counter  resources  of  evasion,  which 
causes  so  many  defeats  of  life. 

There  is  a  race  of  narrow  wits  that  never  succeed 
for  want  of  courage.  Their  understanding  is  of  that 
halting,  hesitating  kind,  which  gives  just  light  enough 
to  see  difficulties  and  start  doubts,  but  not  enough 
to  surmount  the  one  or  remove  the  other.  They  do 
not  know  what  force  of  character  means.  They  seem 
to  have  no  backbone,  but  only  the  mockery  of  a 


162  GOLDEN  OEMS  OF  LIFE. 

vertebral  column  made  of  india-rubber,  equally  pliant 
in  all  directions.  They  come  and  go  like  shadows, 
sandwich  their  sentences  with  apologies,  are  over- 
taken by  events  while  still  irresolute,  and  let  the  tide 
ebb  before  they  feebly  push  off.  Always  brooding 
over  their  plans,  but  never  executing  them.  It  is 
scarcely  possible  to  conceive  of  a  more  unhappy. man 
than  one  afflicted  with  this  infirmity.  It  has  been 
remarked  that  there  are  persons  who  lack  decision 
to  such  a  degree  that  they  seem  never  to  have  made 
up  their  mind  which  leg  to  stand  upon ;  who  deliber- 
ate in  an  agony  of  choice  when  not  a  grain's  weight 
depends  upon  the  decision,  or  the  question  what  road 
to  waik  upon,  what  bundle  of  hay  to  munch  first ;  to 
be  undetermined  where  the  case  is  plain  and  the 
necessity  so  urgent ;  to  be  always  intending  to  lead 
a  new  life,  but  never  finding  time  to  set  about  it. 
There  is  nothing  more  pitiable  in  the  world  than  such 
an  irresolute  man  thus  oscillating  between  extremes, 
who  would  willingly  join  the  two,  but  does  not  per- 
ceive that  nothing  can  unite  them. 

Indecision  is  a  slatternly  housewife,  by  whose  fault 
the  moth  and  rust  are  allowed  to  make  such  dull 
work  of  life.  "A  man  without  decision,"  says  John 
Foster,  "can  never  be  said  to  belong  to  himself, 
since  if  he  dared  to  assert  that  he  did  the  puny  force 
of  some  cause  about  as  powerful,  you  would  have 
supposed,  as  a  spider,  may  make  a  seizure  of  the 
unhappy  boaster  the  very  next  minute,  and  contempt- 
uously exhibit  the  futility  of  the  determinations  by 
which  he  was  to  have  proved  the  independence  of 


DECISION.  163 

his  understanding  and  will.  He  belongs  to  whatever 
can  make  capture  of  him  ;  and  one  thing  after  an- 
other vindicates  its  right  to  him  by  arresting  him 
while  he  is  trying  to  proceed,  as  twigs  and  chips 
floating  near  the  edge  of  a  river  are  intercepted  by 
every  weed,  and  whirled  in  every  little  eddy.  Hav- 
ing concluded  on  a  design,  he  may  pledge  himself  to 
accomplish  it,  if  the  hundred  diversities  of  feeling 
which  may  come  within  the  week  will  let  him.  His 
character  precludes  all  foresight  of  his  conduct.  He 
may  sit  and  wonder  what  form  and  direction  his 
views  and  actions  are  destined  to  take  to-morrow,  as 
a  farmer  has  often  to  acknowledge  that  next  day's 
proceedings  are  at  the  disposal  of  its  winds  and 
clouds. 

A  great  deal  of  the  unhappiness  and  much  of  the 
vice  of  the  world  is  owing  to  weakness  and  indecision 
of  purpose.  The  will,  which  is  the  central  force  of 
character,  must  be  trained  to  habits  of  decision  ;  oth- 
erwise it  will  neither  be  able  to  resist  evil  nor  to 
follow  good.  Decision  gives  the  power  of  standing 
firmly  when  to  yield,  however  slightly,  might  be  only 
the  first  step  in  a  clown-hill  course  to  ruin.  Calling 
upon  others  for  help  in  forming  a  decision  is  worse 
than  useless.  A  man  must  so  train  his  habits  as  to 
rely  upon  his  own  powers,  and  to  depend  upon  his 
own  courage  in  moments  of  emergency.  Many  are 
the  valiant  purposes  formed  that  end  merely  in  words ; 
deeds  intended  that  are  never  done ;  designs  pro- 
jected that  are  never  begun  ;  and  all  for  the  want 
of  a  little  courageous  decision.  Better  far  the  silent 


164  GOLDEX  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

tongue,  but  the  eloquent  deed ;  and  the  most  decisive 
answer  of  all  is  doing.  There  is  nothing  more  to  be 
admired  than  a  manly  firmness  and  decision  of  char- 
acter. We  "admire  a  person  who  knows  his  own 
mind  and  sticks  to  it,  who  sees  at  once  what  is  tc 
be  done  in  given  circumstances,  and  does  it. 

There  never  was  a  time  in  the  world's  history 
that  called  more  earnestly  upon  all  persons  to  culti- 
vate a  firm,  manly  decision  of  character,  to  be  able  to 
say  No  to  the  seductive  power  of  temptation.  There 
is  no  more  beautiful  trait  of  character  to  be  found 
than  that  of  a  determined  will  guided  by  right  mo- 
tives. To  talk  beautifully  is  one  thing,  but  to  act  with 
promptitude  when  the  time  of  action  has  fully  come  is 
as  far  superior  to  the  former  as  the  brilliant  sunlight 
surpasses  the  reflection  of  the  moon.  To  train  the 
mind  to  act  with  decision  is  of  no  less  consequence 
than  of  acting  promptly  when  the  decision  is  reached. 
Of  all  intellectual  gifts  bestowed  upon  man  there  is 
nothing  more  intoxicating  than  readiness — the  power 
of  calling  all  the  resources  of  the  mind  into  simultane- 
ous action  at  a  moment's  notice.  Nothing  strikes  the 
unready  as  so  miraculous  as  this  promptitude  in  oth- 
ers ;  nothing  impresses  him  with  so  dull  and  envious 
a  sense  of  contrast  with  himself.  This  want  of  decis- 
ion is  to  be  laid  on  the  shelf,  to  creep  where  others 
fly,  to  fall  into  permanent  discouragement.  To  pos- 
sess decision  is  to  have  the  mind's  intellectual  prop 
erty  put  out  at  fifty  or  one  hundred  per  cent ;  to  be 
uncertain  at  the  moment  of  trial  is  to  be  dimly  con 
scious  of  faculties  tied  up  somewhere  in  a  napkin. 


DECISION.  165 

Decision  of  mind,  like  vigor  of  body,  is  a  gift  of  God. 
It  can  not  be  created  by  human  effort ;  it  can  only 
be  cultivated.  But  every  mind  has  the  germ  of  this 
quality,  which  can  be  strengthened  by  favorable  cir- 
cumstances and  motives  presented  to  the  mind,  and 
by  method  and  order  in  the  prosecution  of  duties  or 
tasks. 

But  with  all  that  has  been  urged  in  favor  of  de- 
cision and  dispatch,  we  would  not  be  understood  as 
advising  undue  haste.  There  are  occasions  when 
caution  and  delay  are  necessary,  when  to  act  without 
long  and  careful  deliberation  would  be  madness.  But 
when  the  way  is  clear,  when  there  is  no  doubt  as  to 
what  ought  to  be  done,  then  it  is  that  decision  de- 
mands that  an  instant  choice  be  made  between  the 
two — not  to  hesitate  too  long  as  to  which,  but  to 
decide  promptly,  and  then  move  ahead.  Even  in 
cases  where  deliberation  and  caution  are  necessary, 
decision  demands  that  the  mind  acts  quickly.  In  a 
word,  decision  finds  us  engaged  in  a  life-battle.  If 
the  victory  is  ours,  success  and  fortune  wait  upon  us ; 
if  we  are  overthrown,  want  and  misery  stare  us  in 
the  face ;  it  is  well  to  make  our  movements  only  with 
caution,  but  when  we  see  a  chance  we  must  at  once 
improve  it,  or  it  is  gone.  Occasions  also  arise  when 
we  must  rouse  our  forces  on  an  instant's  warning, 
and  to  make  movements  for  which  we  have  no  time 
to  calculate  the  chances.  Then  is  seen  the  triumph 
of  the  decisive,  ready  man.  To  falter  is  to  be  lost; 
to  move  with  dispatch  is  the  only  safety. 


166  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


lOTH  poetry  and  philosophy  are  prodigal  of  eu 
logy  over  the  mind  which  rescues  itself,  by  its: 
own  energy,  from  a  captivity  to  custom,  whic! . 
breaks  the  common  bonds  of  empire  and  cuts 
a  Simplon  over  mountains  of  difficulty  for  its  own 
purposes,  whether  of  good  or  of  evil.  We  can  not 
help  admiring  such  a  character.  It  is  a  positive  re- 
lief to  turn  from  the  contemplation  of  those  relying 
on  some  one  else  for  a  solution  of  the  difficulties 
that  surround  them  to  those  who  are  strong  in  their 
own  self-reliance,  who,  when  confronted  with  fresh 
trials  and  difficulties,  only  put  on  a  more  determined 
mien,  and  more  resolutely  apply  their  own  powers 
to  remove  the  obstacle  so  unexpectedly  put  in  their 
way.  There  is  no  surer  sign  of  an  unmanly  and 
cowardly  spirit  than  a  vague  desire  for  help,  a  wish 
to  depend,  to  lean  upon  somebody  and  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  the  industry  of  others 

In  the  assurance  of  strength  there  is  strength, 
and  they  are  the  weakest,  however  strong,  who  have 
no  faith  in  themselves  or  their  powers.  Men  often 
conquer  difficulties  because  they  think  they  can. 
Their  confidence  in  themselves  inspires  confidence 
in  others.  The  man  who  makes  every  thing  that 
conduces  to  happiness  to  depend  upon  himself,  and 
not  upon  other  men,  on  whose  good  or  evil  actions 
his  own  doings  are  compelled  to  hinge,  has  adopted 
the  very  best  plan  for  living  happily.  This  is  the  man 


SELF-  CONFIDENCE.  167 

of  moderation,  the  possessor  of  manly  character  and 
wisdom.  By  self-reliance  is  not  meant  self-conceit. 
The  two  are  widely  different.  Self-reliance  is  cogni- 
zant of  all  the  ills  of  earthly  existence,  and  it  rests 
on  a  rational  consciousness  of  power  to  contend  with 
them.  It  counts  the  cost  of  the  conflict  with  real 
iife,  and  calmly  concludes  that  it  is  able  to  meet  the 
foes  which  stand  in  frowning  array  on  the  world's 
great  battle-field.  Self-conceit,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  a  vainglorious  assertion  of  power.  It  knows  not 
the  real  difficulties  it  has  to  contend  with,  and  is  too 
supercilious  to  inquire  into  them.  It  rejects  well- 
meant  offers  of  counsel  or  assistance.  It  feels  above 
taking  advice.  The  unhappy  possessor  of  such  a 
trait  of  character  is  far  from  being  a  self-reliant  man. 
It  has  been  said  God  never  intended  that  strong, 
independent  beings  should  be  reared  by  clinging  to 
others,  like  the  ivy  to  the  oak,  for  support.  The 
difficulties,  hardships,  and  trials  of  life — the  obstacles 
one  encounters  on  the  road  to  fortune — are  positive 
blessings.  They  knit  his  muscles  more  firmly,  and 
teach  him  self-reliance,  just  as  by  wrestling  with  an 
athlete  who  is  superior  to  us  we  increase  our  own 
strength  and  learn  the  secret  of  his  skill.  All  difficul- 
ties come  to  us,  as  Bunyaq  says  of  temptation,  like  the 
lion  which  met  Sampson,  the  first  time  we  encounter 
them  they  roar  and  gnash  their  teeth,  but  once  sub- 
dued we  find  a  nest  of  honey  in  them.  Peril  is  the 
very  element  in  which  power  is  developed.  Do  n't 
rely  upon  your  friends,  nor  rely  upon  the  name  of 
your  ancestor.  Thousands  have  spent  the  prime  of 


168  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

life  in  the  vain  hope  of  help  from  those  whom  they 
called  friends,  and  many  thousands  have  starved  be- 
cause they  had  a  rich  father. 

Rely  upon  the  good  name  which  is  made  by  your 
own  exertions,  and  know  that  better  than  the  besf 
friend  you  can  have  is  unconquerable  determination 
of  spirit,  united  with  decision  of  character.  Seek 
such  attainments  as  will  enable  you  to  confide  in 
yourself,  to  rise  equal  to  your  emergencies.  Strive 
to  acquire  an  inward  principle  of  self-support.  Help 
yourself  and  heaven  will  help  you,  should  be  the 
motto  of  every  man  who  would  make  himself  useful 
in  the  world  or  carve  his  way  to  riches  and  honor. 
It  is  an  old  saying,  "He  who  has  lost  confidence  can 
lose  nothing  more."  The  man  who  dares  not  follow 
his  own  independent  judgment,  but  runs  perpetually 
to  others  for  advice,  becomes  at  last  a  moral  weak- 
ling and  an  intellectual  dwarf.  Such  a  man  has  not 
self  within  him,  and  believes  in  no  self,  but  goes  as 
a  suppliant  to  others  and  entreats  of  them,  one  after- 
another,  to  lend  him  theirs.  He  is,  in  fact,  a  mere 
element  of  a  human  being,  and  is  borne  about  the 
world  an  insignificant  cipher,  unless  he  desperately 
fastens  to  other  floating  and  supplementary  elements, 
with  which  he  may  form  a  species  of  incorporation 
resembling  a  man.  Any  young  man  who  will  thus 
part  with  freedom  and  the  self-respect  that  grows  out 
of  self-reliance  and  self-support  is  unmanly,  neither 
deserving  of  assistance  nor  capable  of  making  good 
use  of  it. 

Hardship  is  the  native  soil  of  manhood  and  self- 


SELF-COXFWEXCE.  169 

reliance.  Opposition  is  what  we  want  and  must  have 
to  be  good  for  any  thing.  Men  seem  neither  to  un- 
derstand their  riches  nor  their  own  strength.  Of  the 
former  they  believe  greater  things  than  they  should ; 
of  the  latter,  much  less.  Self-reliance  and  self-denial 
will  teach  a  man  to  drink  of  his  own  cistern,  and  eat 
bread  from  his  own  kitchen,  and  learn  to  labor  truly 
to  get  his  living,  and  carefully  to  expend  the  good 
things  committed  to  his  care.  Every  youth  should 
be  made  to  feel  that  if  he  would  get  through  the 
world  usefully  and  happily  he  must  rely  mainly  upon 
himself  and  his  own  independent  energies.  Young 
men  should  never  hear  any  language  but  this:  "  You 
have  your  own  way  to  make,  and  it  depends  upon 
your  exertion  whether  you  starve  or  not.  Outside 
help  is  your  greatest  curse.  It  handicaps  efforts, 
stifles  aspirations,  shuts  the  door  upon  emulation, 
turns  the  key  upon  energy."  The  custom  of  making 
provisions  to  assist  worthy  young  men  in  obtaining 
an  education  is  often  a  positive  evil  to  the  recipient. 
The  germ  of  self-reliant  energy,  which  else  would 
have  done  so  much  for  his  material  good,  is  stifled 
in  its  growth  by  the  mistaken  kindness  of  benevolent 
beings.  And  no  mental  acquisitions  can  compensate 
any  young  man  for  loss  of  self-reliance. 

It  is  not  the  men  who  have  been  reared  in  afflu- 
ence who  have  left  the  most  enduring  traces  on  the 
world.  It  is  not  in  the  sheltered  garden  or  the  hot- 
house, but  on  the  rugged  Alpine  cliffs,  where  the 
storms  beat  most  violently,  that  the  toughest  plants 
are  reared.  Men  who  are  trained  to  self-reliance  are 


170  GOLDEN  GEZIS  OF  LIFE. 

ready  to  go  out  and  contend  in  the  sternest  conflicts 
of  life,  while  those  who  have  always  leaned  for  sup- 
port on  others  around  them  are  never  prepared  to 
breast  the  storms  of  adversity  that  arise.  Self- 
reliance  is  more  than  a  passive  trust  in  one's  own 
powers.  It  shows  itself  in  an  active  manner ;  it 
demonstrates  itself  in  works.  It  is  not  ashamed  of 
its  pretentions,  but  invites  inspection  and  asks  recog- 
nition. Because  there  is  danger  of  invoicing  your- 
self above  your  real  value,  it  does  not  follow  that  you 
should  always  underrate  your  worth.  Because  to  be 
conspicuous,  honored,  and  known  you  should  not 
retire  upon  the  center  of  your  own  conscious  re- 
sources, you  need  not  necessarily  be  always  at  the 
circumference.  An  excess  of  modesty  is  well-nigh 
as  bad  as  an  excess  of  pride,  for  it  is,  in  fact,  an  ex- 
cess of  pride  in  another  form,  though  it  is  question- 
able if  this  be  not  more  hurtful  to  the  individual  and 
less  beneficial  to  society  than  gross  and  unblushing 
vanity. 

It  is  true,  we  all  patronize  humility  in  the  abstract, 
and,  when  enshrined  in  another,  we  admire  it.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  meet  a  man  who  does  not  pique  our 
vanity,  or  thrust  himself  between  us  and  the  object 
of  our  pretensions.  There  is  no  one  who,  if  ques- 
tioned, would  not  be  found  in  the  depths  of  his  heart 
secretly  to  prefer  the  modest  man,  proportionally 
despising  the  swaggerer  "who  goes  unbidden  to  the 
head  of  the  feast."  But  while  such  is  our  deliberate 
verdict  when  taken  to  task  in  the  matter,  it  is  not  the 
one  we  practically  give.  The  man  who  entertains 


SELF-CONFIDENCE.  171 

a  good,  stout  opinion  of  himself  always  contrives 
somehow  to  cheat  us  out  of  a  corresponding  one, 
and  we  are  too  apt  to  acquiesce  in  his  assumption, 
even  though  they  may  strike  us  unpleasantly.  Nor 
need  this  excite  our  surprise.  The  great  mass  of 
men  have  no  time  to  examine  the  merits  of  others. 
They  are  busy  about  their  own  affairs,  which  claim 
all  their  attention.  They  can  not  go  about  hunting 
modest  worth  in  every  nook  and  corner.  Those  who 
would  secure  their  good  opinion  must  come  forward 
with  their  claims,  and  at  least  show  their  own  con- 
fidence by  backing  them  with  vigorous  assertions. 

If,  therefore,  a  man  of  fair  talents  arrays  his  pre- 
tensions before  us,  if  he  duns  and  pesters  us  for  an 
admission  of  his  merits,  obtruding  them  upon  us, 
we  are  forced  at  last  to  notice  them,  and,  unless  he 
fairly  disgusts  us  by  the  extravagance  of  his  claims, 
shocking  all  sense  of  decency,  we  are  inclined  to 
admit  them,  even  in  preference  to  superior  merits, 
which  their  possessor  by  his  own  actions  seem  to 
underrate.  It  is  too  often  cant  by  which  indolent 
and  irresolute  men  seek  to  lay  their  want  of  success 
at  the  door  of  the  public.  Well-matured  and  well- 
disciplined  talent  is  always  sure  of  a  market,  provided 
it  exerts  itself;  but  it  must  not  cower  at  home  and 
expect  to  be  sought  after.  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
cant,  too,  about  the  successes  of  forward  and  impu- 
dent men,  while  men  of  retiring  worth  are  overlooked. 
But  it  usually  happens  that  those  forward  men  have 
that  valuable  quality  of  promptness  and  activity,  with- 
out which  worth  is  a  mere  inoperative  quality. 


172  GOLDEX  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  in  this 
busy,  bustling"  period  of  the  world's  history  self- 
confidence  is  almost  an  essential  trait  of  character  in 
one  who  means  to  get  along  well  and  win  his  way  to 
success  and  fortune.  This  may  exist  entirely  inde 
pendent  of  self-conceit,  the  two  being  by  no  means 
necessarily  concomitant.  He  must  remember  that  he 
can  not  expect  to  have  people  repose  confidence  in 
his  ability  unless  he  displays  confidence  in  them  him- 
self. If  poverty  be  his  lot,  and  troubles  and  dis- 
couragements of  all  kinds  press  upon  him,  let  him 
take  heart  and  push  resolutely  ahead,  cultivating  a 
strong,  self-reliant  disposition.  By  so  doing  he  will 
rise  superior  to  misfortune.  He  will  learn  to  rely 
on  his  own  resources,  to  look  within  himself  for  the 
means  wherewith  to  combat  the  ills  that  press  upon 
him.  By  such  a  course  of  action  he  takes  the  road 
which  most  surely  leads  to  success. 


is  a  common  saying  that  the  man  of  practical 
ability  far  surpasses  the  theorist.  Just  what  is 
meant  by  practical  ability  is,  perhaps,  hard  to 
explain.  It  is  more  easy  to  tell  what  it  is  not 
than  what  it  is.  It  recognizes  the  fact  that  life  is 
action  ;  that  mere  thoughts  and  schemes  will  avail 
nothing  unless  subsequently  wrought  out  in  action. 
It  is  an  indescribable  quality  which  results  from  a 


PRACTICAL  TALENTS.  173 

u.rion  of  worldly  knowledge  with  shrewdness  and  tact. 
He  that  sets  out  on  the  journey  of  life  with  a  pro- 
found knowledge  of  books,  but  with  a  shallow  knowl- 
edge of  men,  with  much  of  the  sense  of  others, 
but  with  little  of  his  own,  will  find  himself  com- 
pletely at  a  loss  on  occasions  of  common  and  con- 
stant recurrence. 

1  Speculative  ability  is  one  thing,  and  practical  abil- 
ity is  another  ;  and  the  man  who  in  his  study  or  with 
his  pen  in  hand  shows  himself  capable  of  forming 
large  views  of  life  and  policy,  may  in  the  outer  world 
be  found  altogether  unfitted  for  carrying  them  into 
practical  effect.  Speculative  ability  depends  on  vig- 
orous thinking,  practical  ability  in  vigorous  acting, 
and  the  two  qualities  are  usually  found  combined  in 
very  unequal  proportions.  The  speculative  man  is 
prone  to  indecision  ;  he  sees  all  sides  of  a  question, 
and  his  action  becomes  suspended  in  nicely  weighing 
the  arguments  for  and  against,  which  are  often  found 
nearly  to  balance  each  other ;  whereas  the  practical 
man  overleaps  logical  preliminaries  and  arrives  at 
certain  definite  convictions,  and  proceeds  forthwith  to 
carry  his  policy  into  action.  The  mere  theorist  rarely 
displays  practical  ability ;  and,  conversely,  the  prac- 
tical man  rarely  displays  a  high  degree  of  speculative 
wisdom.  If  you  try  to  carve  a  stone  with  a  razor, 
the  razor  will  lose  its  edge,  and  the  stone  remain 
uncut.  A  high  education,  unless  it  is  practical  as 
well  as  classical,  often  unfits  a  man  for  contest  with 
his  fellow-man.  Intellectual  culture,  if  carried  beyond 
a  certain  point,  is  too  often  purchased  at  the  expense 


174  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  moral  vigor.  It  gives  edge  and  splendor  to  a  man, 
but  draws  out  all  his  temper. 

In  all  affairs  of  life,  but  more  especially  in  those 
great  enterprises  which  require  the  co-operation  of 
others,  a  knowledge  of  men  is  indispensable.  This 
knowledge  implies  not  only  quickness  of  penetration 
and  sagacity,  but  many  other  superior  elements  of 
character ;  for  it  is  important  to  perceive  not  merely 
in  whom  we  can  confide,  but  to  maintain  that  influ- 
ence over  them  which  secures  their  good  faith  and 
defeats  the  unworthy  purpose  of  a  wavering  and  dis- 
honest mind.  The  world  always  laughs  at  those  fail- 
ures which  arise  from  weakness  of  judgment  and 
defects  of  penetration.  Practical  wisdom  is  only  to 
be  learned  in  the  school  of  experience.  Precepts  and 
instruction  are  useful  so  far  as  they  go ;  but  without 
the  discipline  of  real  life  they  remain  of  the  nature 
of  theories  only.  The  hard  facts  of  existence  give 
that  touch  of  truth  to  character  which  can  never  be 
imparted  by  reading  or  tuition,  but  only  by  contact 
with  the  broad  instincts  of  common  men  and  women. 

Intellectual  training  is  to  be  prized,  but  practical 
knowledge  is  necessary  to  make  it  available.  Expe- 
rience gained  from  books,  however  valuable,  is  of  the 
nature  of  learning;  experience  gained  from  outward 
life  is  wisdom ;  and  an  ounce  of  the  latter  is  worth  a 
pound  of  the  former.  Rich  mental  endowments,  thor- 
ough culture,  great  genius,  brilliant  parts  have  often 
existed  in  company  with  very  glaring  deficiencies  in 
what  may  be  called  good  judgment ;  while  there  is  a 
certain  stability  of  judgment  and  soundness  of  under- 


PRACTICAL  TALENTS.  175 

standing  often  displayed  by  those  who  have  not  an 
extensive  education.  The  old  sailor  knows  nothing 
cf  nautical  astronomy.  Azimuths,  right  ascensions, 
and  the  solution  of  spherical  triangles  have  no  charm 
and  little  meaning  to  him.  But  he  can  scan  the  seas 
and  skies  and  warn  of  coming  danger  with  a  natural 
wisdom  which  all  the  keen  intellect  and  ready  math- 
ematics of  the  young  lieutenant  do  not  afford.  The 
man  who  has  traveled  much  accumulates  a  store  of 
useful  information,  and  can  give  hints  of  practical  wis- 
dom which  no  deep  study  of  geological  lore  or  of 
antiquarian  research  could  afford.  The  student  of 
life  rather  than  of  books  gains  an  understanding  by 
experience  for  which  no  store  of  erudition  can  prove 
an  adequate  compensation.  The  true  order  of  learn- 
ing should  be,  first,  what  is  necessary  ;  second,  what 
is  useful ;  and  third,  what  is  ornamental.  To  reverse 
this  arrangement  is  like  beginning  to  build  at  the 
top  of  the  edifice.  Practical  ability  depends  in  a 
large  measure  on  the  employment  of  what  is  known 
as  common  sense,  which  is  the  average  sensibility  and 
intelligence  of  men  undisturbed  by  individual  pecul- 
iarities. Fine  sense  and  exalted  sense  are  not  half 
as  useful  as  common  sense.  There  are  forty  men  of 
wit  for  one  man  of  sense,  and  he  that  will  carry  noth- 
ing but  gold  will  be  every  day  at  a  loss  for  readier 
change. 

The  height  of  ability  consists  in  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  real  value  of  things  and  of  the  genius  of 
the  age  we  live  in,  and  could  we  know  by  what 
strange  circumstances  a  man's  genius  becomes  pre- 


176  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

pared  for  practical  success,  we  should  discover  that 
the  most  serviceable  items  in  his  education  were 
never  entered  in  the  bills  his  father  paid  for.  That 
knowledge  of  the  world  which  inculcates  strict  vigi- 
lance in  regard  to  our  individual  interests  and  repre- 
sentation, which  recommends  the  mastery  of  thingc 
to  be  held  in  our  own  hands,  or  which  enables  us  to 
live  undamaged  by  the  skillful  maneuvers  and  crafty 
plots  of  plausible  men  on  the  one  hand  or  uncontam- 
inated  by  the  depravities  of  unprincipled  ones  on  the 
other,  is  of  daily  acquisition  and  equally  accessible 
to  all. 

The  most  learned  of  men  do  not  always  make  the 
best  of  teachers ;  the  lawyer  who  has  achieved  a 
classical  education  is  not  always  the  most  successful. 
The  men  who  have  wielded  power  have  not  always 
been  graduates.  Brindley  and  Stephenson  did  not 
learn  to  read  and  write  until  they  were  twenty  years 
old  ;  yet  the  one  gave  England  her  railroads,  and  the 
other  her  canals.  The  great  inventor  is  one  who  has 
walked  forth  upon  the  industrial  world,  not  from  uni- 
versities, but  from  hovels  ;  not  as  clad  in  silks  and 
decked  with  honors,  but  as  clad  in  fustian  and  grimed 
with  soot  and  oil.  It  is  not  known  where  he  who  in- 
vented the  plow  was  born,  or  where  he  died  ;  yet  he 
has  effected  more  for  the  happiness  of  the  world 
than  the  whole  race  of  heroes  and  conquerors  who 
drenched  it  in  tears  and  blood,  whose  birth,  parent- 
age, and  education  have  been  handed  down  to  us 
with  a  precision  proportionate  to  the  mischief  they 
Iiave  done.  Mankind  owes  more  of  its  real  happiness 


PRACTICAL  TALENTS.  177 

to  this   humble   inventor   than  to   some  of  the  most 
acute  minds  in  the  realm  of  literature. 

Education,  indeed,  accomplishes  wonders  in  fitting 
a  man  for  the  work  of  success,  but  we  sometimes  for- 
get that  it  is  of  more  consequence  to  have  the  mind 
well  disciplined  rather  than  richly  stored, — strong 
rather  than  full.  Every  day  we  see  men  of  high 
culture  distanced  in  the  race  of  life  by  the  upstart 
who  can  not  spell.  The  practical  dunce  outstrips 
the  theorizing  genius.  Life  teems  with  such  illus- 
trations. Men  have  ruled  well  who  could  not  define 
a  commonwealth  ;  and  they  who  did  not  understand 
the  shape  of  the  earth  have  commanded  a  greater 
portion  of  it.  The  want  of  practical  talent  in  men 
of  fine  intellectual  powers  has  often  excited  the  won- 
der of  the  crowd.  They  are  astonished  that  one 
who  has  grasped,  perhaps,  the  mightiest  themes,  and 
shed  a  light  on  the  path  to  be  pursued  by  others, 
should  be  unable  to  manage  his  own  affairs  with 
dexterity.  But  this  is  not  strange.  Deep  thinking 
and  practical  talents  require  habits  of  mind  almost 
entirely  dissimilar,  and  though  they  may,  and  often 
do,  exist  conjointly,  and  while  it  is  the  duty  of  all  to 
strive  to  cultivate  both,  yet  such  is  the  constitution 
of  the  human  mind  that  it  is  apt  to  go  to  extremes. 
And  he  who  accustoms  himself  to  deep  prying  into 
nature's  secrets,  to  exploring  the  hidden  mysteries 
of  the  past,  is  too  apt  to  forget  the  practical  details 
of  every-day  life,  to  pass  them  by  with  disgust,  as 
altogether  beneath  his  attention.  This  is  an  error, 
and  none  the  less  reprehensible  on  that  account  than 

12 


1 78  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

is  the  conduct  of  those  who  become  so  engrossed 
with  the  practical  affairs  of  their  calling  or  profession 
as  to  forget  that  they  have  a  higher  nature,  and  sink 
the  man  in  the  pursuit  of  their  ambitious  dreams. 

A  man  who  sees  limitedly  and  clearly  is  both 
more  sure  of  himself  "and  is  more  direct  in  deal- 
ing with  circumstances  and  with  men  than  is  a  man 
who  has  a  large  horizon  of  thought,  whose  many- 
sided  capacity  embraces  an  immense  extent  of  ob- 
jects, just  as  the  somnambulist  treads  with  safety 
where  the  wide-awake  man  could  not  hope  to  follow. 
Practical  men  cut  the  knots  which  they  can  not  untie, 
and,  overleaping  all  preliminaries,  come  at  once  to  a 
conclusion.  Men  of  theoretical  knowledge,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  tempted  to  waste  time  in  comparing 
and  meditating  when  they  should  be  up  and  doing. 
Practical  knowledge  will  not  always  of  itself  raise  a 
man  to  eminence,  but  for  want  of  it  many  a  man  has 
fallen  short  of  distinction.  Without  it  the  best  run- 
ner, straining  for  the  prize,  finds  himself  suddenly 
tripped  up  and  lying  on  his  back  in  the  midst  of  the 
race.  Without  it  the  subtlest  theologian  will  live  and 
die  in  an  obscure  country  village,  and  the  acutest 
legal  mind  fail  of  adorning  the  bench.  The  man  who 
lacks  it  may  be  a  great  thinker  or  a  great  worker. 
He  may  be  an  acute  reasoner  and  an  eloquent 
speaker,  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  fail  of  success. 
There  is  a  hitch,  a  stand-still,  a  mysterious  want 
somewhere.  Little,  impalpable  trifles  weave  them- 
selves into  a  web  which  holds  him  back.  The  fact 
is.,  he  is  not  sufficiently  in  accord  with  his  surround- 


EDUCATION.  179 

ings.  He  has  never  seen  the  importance  of  adjust- 
ing his  scale  of  weights  and  measures  to  the  popular 
standard.  In  a  word,  he  is  not  a  man  of  the  world, 
in  a  popular  sense. 

While  it  may  be  very  difficult  to  define  this  prac- 
tical ability,  which  is  so  all-important,  yet  the  path 
to  be  pursued  by  him  who  would  advance  therein  is 
visible  to  all.  It  requires  a  shrewd  and  careful  ob- 
servance of  men  and  things  rather  than  of  books. 
It  requires  that  the  judgment  be  strengthened  by 
being  called  upon  in  apparently  trivial  affairs.  The 
memory  must  be  trained  to  recall  principles  rather 
than  statements.  All  the  faculties  of  the  mind  must 
be  trained  to  act  with  decision  and  dispatch.  Edu- 
cation must  be  regarded  as  a  means  and  not  as  an 
end.  By  these  means,  while  admitting  that  practical 
talents  are,  in  their  true  sense,  a  gift  of  God,  still 
we  can  cultivate  and  bring  them  to  perfection,  and 
by  education  and  experience  convert  that  which  be- 
fore lay  dormant  in  the  rough  pebble  into  a  dazzling 
diamond. 


- ROM   time  immemorial   intellectual  endowments 
have  been  crowned  with  bays  of  honor.     Men 
have  worshiped  at  the  shrine  of  intellect  with 
an  almost  Eastern  idolatry.     Men  of  more  than 
an   average   endowment   of   intellect   have   been   re- 
garded   as    superior    beings.      The    multitude    have 


180  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

looked  upon  them  with  wonder.  With  reverent  hands 
the  world  at  large  has  crowned  intellect  with  its 
richest  honors.  Its  pathway  has  been  strewn  with 
flowers ;  its  brow  has  worn  the  loftiest  plume ;  ii  has 
held  the  mightiest  scepter  of  power,  and  sat  upor 
the  proudest  throne.  Evidence  mightier  than  tht 
plaudits  of  admiring  multitudes  is  every -where 
found  in  the  universe  proclaiming  the  worth  and 
power  of  the  human  intellect.  There  can  not  be  a 
grander  theme  to  engross  the  attention  of  all  classes 
than  that  subject  which  has  to  do  with  the  training 
of  the  intellect.  The  subject  of  education  is  fraught 
with  a  deep  interest  to  all  who  have  a  just  apprecia- 
tion of  its  merits.  It  should  be  of  interest  to  all 
within  the  pale  of  civilization,  inasmuch  as  the  happi- 
ness of  all  classes  is  connected  with  the  subject  of 
education. 

Education  is  development.  It  is  not  simply  in- 
struction, facts,  and  rules  communicated  by  the 
teacher,  but  it  is  discipline,  a  waking  up,  a  develop- 
ment of  latent  powers,  a  growth  of  the  mind.  It 
finds  the  child's  mind  passive ;  it  trains  it  to  think 
independently;  it  awakens  its  powers  to  observe,  to 
reflect,  to  combine.  It  aims  to  bring  into  harmonious 
action  all  the  powers  of  the  mind,  not,  as  some  sup- 
pose, a  cultivation  of  a  few  to  the  neglect  of  all  the 
rest.  Education  should  have  reference  to  the  whole 
man — the  body,  the  mind,  and  the  heart.  Its  object, 
and,  when  rightly  conducted,  its  effect,  is  to  make 
him  a  complete  creature  of  his  kind.  To  his  frame 
it  would  give  vigor,  activity,  and  beauty ;  to  his  heart 


EDUCATION.  181 

virtue ;  to  his  senses  correctness  and  acuteness.  The 
educated  man  is  not  the  gladiator,  nor  the  scholar, 
nor  the  upright  man  alone,  but  a  well  balanced  com- 
bination of  the  three.  The  well-developed  tree  is 
not  one  simply  well  rooted,  nor  with  giant  branches, 
nor  resplendent  with  rich  foliage,  but  all  of  these 
together.  If  you  mark  the  perfect  man  you  must 
not  look  for  him  in  the  gymnasium,  the  university,  or 
the  Church  exclusively,  but  you  look  for  the  health- 
ful mind  in  the  healthful  body,  with  a  virtuous  heart. 
The  being  in  whom  you  find  this  union  is  the  only 
one  worthy  to  be  called  educated. 

Education,  strictly  speaking,  covers  the  whole 
area  of  life.  It  is  the  word  which  means  all  that 
God  asks  of  us,  all  we  owe  the  world  or  ourselves. 
It  expresses  the  sum  total  of  human  duty.  Nor  is  it 
confined  to  the  present  period  of  life.  For  aught  we 
know  education  may  be  continued  in  heaven.  Rea- 
son may  continue  to  widen  its  powers  and  deepen  its 
sanctities  there.  The  affections  may  grow  in  beauty 
and  fervor  .through  innumerable 'ages.  Mind  may 
expand  and  intensify  through  eternity.  Education  is 
a  work  of  progress.  It  begins  in  life,  but  has  no 
end.  Death  does  not  terminate  it.  We  learn  the 
elements  of  things  below ;  above,  we  will  study  their 
essence.  We  progress  only  by  efforts.  Whatever 
expands  the  affection  or  enlarges  the  sphere  of  our 
sympathies,  whatever  makes  us  feel  our  relation 
to  the  universe,  to  the  great  and  beneficial  cause  of 
all,  must  unquestionably  refine  our  nature  and  elevate 
us  in  the  scale  of  being. 


182  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

It  requires  extensive  observation  to  enable  us 
even  partially  to  appreciate  the  wonderful  extent  to 
which  all  the  faculties  are  developed  by  mental  culti- 
vation. The  nervous  system  grows  more  vigorous 
and  active,  the  touch  is  more  sensitive,  and  there  is 
greater  mobility  to  the  hand.  Men  are  often  like 
knives  with  many  blades.  They  know  how  to  open 
one  and  only  one ;  the  rest  are  buried  in  the  handle, 
and  from  misuse  become  useless.  Education  is  the 
knowledge  of  how  to  use  the  whole  of  one's  self. 
He  is  educated  who  knows  how  to  make  a  tool  of 
every  faculty,  how  to  open  it,  how  to  keep  it  sharp, 
and  how  to  apply  it  to  all  practical  purposes.  Educa- 
tion is  of  three  parts, — from  nature,  from  man,  and 
from  things.  The  development  of  our  faculties  and 
organs  is  the  education  of  nature ;  that  of  man  is  the 
application  we  learn  to  make  of  this  very  developing ; 
and  that  of  things  is  the  experience  we  acquire  in 
regard  to  different  objects  by  which  we  are  affected. 
All  that  we  have  not  at  our  birth,  and  all  that  we  have 
acquired  in  the  years  of  our  maturity,  shows  the 
need  and  effect  of  education.  The  power  of  educa- 
tion is  shown  in  that  it  hath  power  to  give  to  chil- 
dren resources  that  will  endure  as  long  as  life 
endures,  habits  that  time  will  ameliorate  but  not 
destroy,  in  that  it  renders  sickness  tolerable,  solitude 
pleasant,  age  venerable,  life  more  dignified  and  use- 
ful, and  death  less  terrible. 

Education  may  be  right  or  wrong,  good  or  bad. 
Reason  may  grow  strong  in  error  and  revel  in  falsi- 
ties. The  heart  may  grow  in  vice,  and  the  passions 


EDUCATION.  183 

expand  in  misrule.  It  has  been  wisely  ordained  that 
light  should  have  no  color,  water  no  taste,  and  air 
no  odor ;  so  knowledge  should  be  equally  pure  and 
without  admixture.  If  it  comes  to  us  through  the 
medium  of  prejudice  it  will  be  discolored  ;  through 
the  channels  of  custom,  it  will  be  adulterated;  through 
the  Gothic  walls  of  the  college  or  of  the  cloister,  it 
will  smell  of  the  lamp.  It  is  not  what  a  man  eats, 
but  what  he  digests  that  makes  him  strong;  not  what 
he  gains,  but  what  he  saves  that  makes  him  rich ;  so 
it  is  not  what  he  reads  or  hears,  but  what  he  remem- 
bers and  applies  that  makes  him  learned.  He  who 
knows  men  and  how  to  deal  with  them,  whose  mind 
by  any  means  whatever  has  received  that  discipline 
which  gives  to  its  action  power  and  facility,  has  been 
educated. 

We  can  not  be  too  careful  to  have  our  education 
proceed  in  the  right  direction.  It  is  almost  as  diffi- 
cult to  make  a  man  unlearn  his  errors  as  to  acquire 
his  knowledge.  Error  is  more  hopeless  than  igno- 
rance, for  error  is  always  the  more  busy.  Ignorance 
is  a  blank  sheet,  on  which  we  can  write,  but  error  is 
a  scribbled  one,  from  which  we  must  first  erase. 
Ignorance  is  content  to  stand  still  without  advancing 
towards  wisdom,  but  error,  more  presumptuous,  pro- 
ceeds in  the  contrary  direction.  Ignorance  has  no 
light  to  guide  her,  but  error  follows  a  false  one. 
The  consequences  are  that  error,  when  she  retraces 
her  footsteps,  has  a  long  distance  to  go  before  she 
is  in  as  good  condition  for  the  acquiring  of  truth  as 
ignorance. 


184  GOLDEX  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

A  right  conception  of  the  value  and  power  of 
wisdom  is  a  great  incentive  in  stimulating  us  to 
proceed  in  the  work  of  educating  ourselves.  It  is 
knowledge  that  has  converted  the  world  from  a 
desert  abode  of  savage  men  to  the  beautiful  homer 
of  civilization.  Human  knowledge  is  permitted  tc 
approximate-,  in  some  degree  and  on  certain  occa- 
sions, with  that  of  the  Deity — its  pure  and  primary 
source.  And  this  assimilation  is  never  more  con- 
spicuous than  when  from  evil  it  gathers  its  opposite 
good.  What,  at  first  sight,  appears  to  be  so  insur 
mountable  an  obstacle  to  the  intercourse  of  nations 
as  the  ocean?  But  knowledge  has  converted  it  into 
the  best  and  most  expeditious  means  by  which  they 
may  supply  their  mutual  wants  and  carry  on  their 
intimate  communications.  What  so  violent  as  steam, 
or  so  destructive  as  fire?  What  so  uncertain  as  the 
winds,  or  so  uncontrollable  as  the  wave?  Yet  wis- 
dom has  rendered  these  unmanageable  things  instru- 
mental and  subsidiary  to  the  necessities,  the  comforts, 
and  even  the  elegancies  of  life.  What  so  hard,  so 
cold,  so  insensible  as  marble?  Yet  the  sculptors  can 
warm  it  into  life  and  bid  it  breathe  an  eternity  of 
love.  What  so  variable  as  color,  so  swift  as  light^ 
or  so  empty  as  shade  ?  Yet  the  painter's  pencil 
can  give  these  fleeting  fancies  both  a  body  and  a 
soul;  can  confer  upon  them  an  imperishable  vigor,  a 
beauty  which  increases  with  age,  and  which  will  con- 
tinue to  captivate  generations.  In  short,  wisdom  can 
draw  expedients  from  obstacles,  invention  from  diffi- 
culties, remedies  from  poisons.  In  her  hands  all 


EDUCATION.  185 

things  become  beautiful  by  adaptation,  subservient 
by  their  use,  and  salutary  by  their  application. 

Since,  then,  intellectual  attainments  are  so  pre- 
cious and  wisdom  so  grand  in  its  achievements,  he 
who  neglects  to  improve  his  mental  faculties,  or  fails 
to  train  all  his  powers  of  mind  and  body,  is  not 
walking  in  those  paths  that,  under  God's  guidance, 
conduce  most  surely  to  happiness  and  content.  This 
can  be  done  by  all,  since  education  is  within  the 
reach  of  all,  even  the  most  humble.  The  youth  who 
believes  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  get  an  education 
is  deficient  in  courage  and  energy.  Too  many  have 
imbibed  the  idea  that  to  obtain  a  sufficient  education 
to  enable  a  man  to  appear  advantageously  upon  the 
theater  of  public  life  his  boyhood  and  youth  must  be 
spent  within  the  walls  of  some  classical  seminary  of 
learning,  that  he  may  commence  his  career  under  the 
banner  of  a  collegiate  diploma,  and  with  it  win  the 
first  round  in  the  ladder  of  fame.  That  a  refined, 
classical  education  is  desirable  all  will  admit;  that  it 
is  indispensably  necessary  does  not  follow.  He  who 
has  been  incarcerated  from  his  childhood  to  majority 
within  the  limited  circumference  of  his  school  and 
boarding  room,  though  he  may  have  mastered  all  the 
classics,  is  destitute  of  that  knowledge  of  men  and 
things  indispensably  necessary  to  enable  him  to 
act  with  vigor  and  dispatch  either  in  public  or  pri- 
vate life. 

Classical  lore  and  polite  literature  are  very  differ- 
ent from  that  vast  amount  of  practical  intelligence, 
fit  for  every-day  use,  that  one  must  have  to  render 


186  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

his  intercourse  with  society  pleasing  to  himself  or 
agreeable  to  others.  Let  boys  and  girls  be  taught 
first  what  is  necessary  to  prepare  them  for  the  com- 
mon duties  of  life;  then  all  that  can  be  gained  from 
fields  of  classic  lore  or  works  of  polite  erudition  is  of 
the  utmost  value.  In  this  enlightened  age  ignorance 
is  a  voluntary  misfortune,  for  all  who  will  may  drink 
deeply  at  the  fountain  of  knowledge.  By  the  proper 
improvement  of  time  the  mechanic's  apprentice  may 
lay  in  a  store  of  information  that  will  enable  him  to 
take  a  stand  by  the  side  of  those  persons  who  have 
grown  up  in  the  full  blaze  of  a  collegiate  education. 
Learn  thoroughly  what  you  learn,  be  it  ever  so 
little,  and  you  may  speak  of  it  with  confidence.  A 
few  well-defined  facts  and  ideas  are  worth  a  whole 
library  of  uncertain  knowledge.  We  are  frequently 
placed  in  position  where  we  can  learn  with  scarcely 
an  effort  on  our  part,  and  yet  we  hang  back  because 
it  takes  so  long  to  acquire  a  mastery  of  any  thing. 
Let  the  end  alone!  Begin  at  the  beginning,  and 
though,  after  all,  it  prove  but  a  mere  smattering,  you 
are  informed  on  one  point  more,  and  your  life  will 
be  happier  for  making  the  effort.  By  gaining  an 
education  you  shall  have  your  reward  in  the  rich 
stores  of  knowledge  you  have  thus  collected,  and 
which  shall  ever  be  at  your  command,  more  valua- 
ble than  material  treasures.  While  fleets  may  sink, 
store-houses  consume,  and  riches  fade,  the  intellect- 
ual stores  you  have  thus  gathered  will  be  permanent 
and  enduring,  as  unfailing  as  the  constant  flow  of 
Niagara  —  a  bank  whose  dividends  are  perpetual, 


MENTAL  TRAINING.  187 

whose  wealth  is  undiminished,  however  frequent  the 
draits  upon  it.  How  wise,  then,  to  secure,  as  far  as 
possible,  a  complete  and  lasting  education. 


|HE  mind  has  a  certain  vegetative  power  which 
can  not  be  wholly  idle.  If  it  is  not  laid  out  and 
cultivated  into  a  beautiful  garden,  it  will  shoot 
up  in  weeds  and  flowers  of  a  wild  growth. 
From  this,  then,  is  seen  the  necessity  of  careful  men- 
tal cultivation — a  training  of  all  the  faculties  in  the 
right  direction.  This  should  be  the  first  great  object 
in  any  system  of  education,  public  or  private.  The 
value  of  an  education  depends  far  less  upon  varied 
and  extensive  acquirements  than  upon  the  cultivation 
of  just  powers  of  thought  and  the  general  regulation 
of  the  faculties  of  the  understanding.  That  it  is  not 
the  amount  of  knowledge,  but  the  capacity  to  apply 
it,  which  promises  success  and  usefulness  in  life,  is  a 
truth  which  can  not  be  too  often  inculcated  by  in- 
structors and  recollected  by  pupils.  If  youths  are 
taught  how  to  think,  they  will  soon  learn  what  to 
think.  Exercise  is  not  more  necessary  to  a  healthful 
state  of  the  body  than  is  the  employment  of  the  va- 
rious faculties  of  the  mind  to  mental  efficiency.  The 
practical  sciences  are  as  barren  of  useful  products 
as  the  speculative  where  facts  only  are  the  ob- 
jects of  knowledge,  and  the  understanding  is  not 


188  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

habituated  to  a  continual  process  of  examination  and 
reflection. 

It  is  the  trained  and  disciplined  intellect  which 
rules  the  world  of  literature,  science,  and  art.  It  is 
knowledge  put  in  action  by  trained  mental  faculties 
which  is  powerful.  Knowledge  merely  gathered  to- 
gether, whether  in  books  or  in  brains,  is  devoid  of 
power,  unless  quickened  into  life  by  the  thoughts  and 
reflections  of  some  practical  worker.  But  when  this 
is  supplied  knowledge  becomes  an  engine  of  power. 
It  is  this  which  forms  the  philosopher's  stone,  the 
true  alchemy,  that  converts  every  thing  it  touches 
into  gold.  It  is  the  scepter  that  gives  us  our  domin- 
ion 6ver  nature ;  the  key  that  unlocks  the  storehouse 
of  creation,  and  opens  to  us  the  treasures  of  the  uni- 
verse. It  is  this  which  forms  the  difference  between 
savage  and  civilized  nations,  and  marks  the  distinc- 
tion between  men  as  they  appear  in  society.  It  is 
this  which  has  raised  men  from  the  humblest  walks 
of  fife  to  positions  of  influence  and  power. 

The  lack  of  mental  training  and  discipline  ex- 
plains, in  a  large  measure,  why  we  so  often  meet 
with  men  who  are  the  possessors  of  vast  stores  of 
erudition,  and  yet  make  a  failure  of  every  thing  they 
try.  We  shall  at  all  times  chance  upon  men  of  pro- 
found and  recondite  acquirements,  but  whose  qualifi- 
cations, from  a  lack  of  practical  application  on  their 
owners'  part,  are  as  utterly  useless  to  them  as  though 
they  had  them  not.  A  person  of  this  class  may  be 
compared  to  a  fine  chronometer  which  has  no  hands 
to  its  dial ;  both  are  constantly  right  without  correct- 


MENTAL  'TRAINING.  189 

ing  any  that  are  wrong,  and  may  be  carried  around 
the  world  without  assisting  one  individual  either  in 
making  a  discovery  or  taking  an  observation.  Every 
faculty  of  the  mind  is  worthy  of  cultivation;  indeed, 
all  must  be  cultivated,  if  we  would  round  and  perfect 
Dur  mental  powers  as  to  secure  therefrom  the  great- 
est good.  Memory  must  be  ready  with  her  stores 
of  useful  knowledge,  gathered  from  fields  far  and 
near.  She  must  be  trained  to  classify  and  arrange 
them,  so  as  to  hold  them  in  her  grasp.  Observation 
must  be  quick  to  perceive  the  apparently  trivial 
events  which  are  constantly  occurring,  and  diligent 
to  ascertain  the  cause.  The  judgment  must  pro- 
nounce its  decision  without  undue  delay ;  the  will 
move  to  execution  in  accordance  with  the  fiat  of  an 
enlightened  understanding. 

This  work  of  mental  training,  apparently  so  vast, 
is  really  so  pleasant  and  easy  that  it  sweetens  every 
day's  life.  There  is  no  excuse  for  the  youth  who  is 
content  to  grow  up  to  mature  life  and  its  duties  with 
a  mind  whose  powers  are  untrained,  and  which  has 
not  received  the  advantages  of  a  practical  education. 
Some  may  think  they  are  excused  by  poverty  ;  but 
lack  of  means  has  not  robbed  them  of  a  single  intel- 
lectual power.  On  the  contrary,  it  sharpens  them 
all.  Has  poverty  shut  them  out  from  nature,  from 
truth,  or  from  God?  Wealth  can  not  convert  a 
dunce  into  a  genius.  Gold  will  not  store  a  mind 
with  wisdom  ;  more  likely  it  will  fill  it  with  folly.  It 
may  decorate  the  body,  but  it  can  not  adorn  the 
soul.  No  business  is  so  urgent  but  that  time  may 


190  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

be  spent  in  mental  training.  One  can  not  well  help 
thinking  and  studying ;  for  the  mind  is  ever  active. 
What  is  needful  is  to  direct  it  to  proper  objects  and 
in  proper  channels,  and  it  will  cultivate  itself.  There 
is  nothing  to  prevent  but  the  will.  Whoever  forms 
a  resolute  determination  to  cultivate  his  mind  will 
find  nothing  in  his  way  sufficient  to  stop  him.  If  he 
finds  barriers  they  only  strengthen  him  by  overcom- 
ing them.  Whoever  lives  to  thirty  years  of  age 
without  cultivating  his  mind  is  guilty  of  a  great 
waste  of  time.  If  during  that  period  he  does  not 
form  a  habit  of  reading,  of  observation,  and  reflec- 
tion, he  will  never  form  such  a  habit,  but  go  through 
the  world  none  the  wiser  for  all  the  wonders  that  are 
spread  around  him.  A  small  portion  of  that  leisure 
time  which  by  too  many  is  given  to  dissipation  and 
idleness,  would  enable  any  young  man  to  acquire  a 
very  general  knowledge  of  men  and  things.  One  can 
live  a  life-time  and  get  no  instruction  ;  but  as  soon  as 
he  begins  to  look  for  wisdom  it  is  given  him.  Even 
in  the  pursuits  of  practical,  every-day  life  numberless 
instances  are  constantly  arising  to  aid  in  mental  train- 
ing. There  are  few  persons  so  engrossed  by  the 
cares  and  labors  of  their  calling  that  they  can  not 
give  thirty  minutes  a  day  to  mental  training ;  and 
even  that  time,  wisely  spent,  will  tell  at  the  end  of  a 
year.  The  affections,  it  is  well  known,  sometimes 
crowd  years  into  moments  ;  and  the  intellect  has 
something  of  the  same  power.  If  you  really  prize 
mental  cultivation,  or  are  deeply  anxious  to  do  any 
good  thing,  you  will  find  time  or  make  time  for  it 


MENTAL  TRAINING.  191 

sooner  or  later,  however,  engrossed  with  other  em- 
ployments. A  failure  to  accomplish  it  can  only  dem- 
onstrate the  feebleness  of  your  will,  not  that  you 
lacked  time  for  its  execution. 

It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the  importance  of 
reading  as  a  means  of  training  the  mental  faculties. 
It  is  by  this  means  that  you  gather  food  for  thoughts, 
principles,  and  actions.  If  your  books  are  wisely  se- 
lected and  properly  studied,  they  will  enlighten  your 
minds,  improve  your  hearts,  and  establish  your  char- 
acter. To  acquire  useful  information,  to  improve  the 
mind  in  knowledge  and  the  heart  in  goodness,  to 
become  qualified  to  perform  with  honor  and  useful- 
ness the  duties  of  life,  and  prepare  for  immortality 
beyond  the  grave,  are  the  great  objects  which  ought 
to  be  kept  in  view  in  reading. 

There  are  four  classes  of  readers.  The  first  is 
like  the  hour-glass,  and,  their  reading  being  on  the 
sand,  it  runs  in  and  runs  out,  and  leaves  no  vestige 
behind.  A  second  is  like  a  sponge,  which  imbibes 
every  thing,  and  returns  it  in  the  same  state,  only  a 
little  dirtier.  A  third  is  like  a  jelly-bag,  allowing  all 
that  is  pure  to  pass  away,  retaining  only  the  refuse 
and  the  dregs.  The  fourth  is  like  the  slaves  in  the 
diamond-mines  of  Golconda,  who,  casting  away  all 
that  is  worthless,  obtain  only  pure  gems. 

We  should  read  with  discrimination.  The  world 
is  full  of  books,  no  small  portion  of  which  are  either 
worthless  or  decidedly  hurtful  in  their  tendency, 
^nd  as  no  man  has  time  to  read  every  thing,  he 
ought  to  make  a  selection  of  the  ablest  and  best 


192  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

writers  on  the  subjects  which  he  wishes  to  investi- 
gate, and  dismiss  wholly  from  his  attention  the  en- 
tire crowd  of  unworthy  and  useless  ones.  Always 
read  with  your  thoughts  concentrated,  and  your  mind 
entirely  engaged  on  the  subject  you  are  pursuing. 
Any  other  course  tends  to  form  a  habit  of  desultory,, 
indolent  thought,  and  incapacitate  the  mind  from  con- 
fining its  attention  to  close  and  accurate  investiga- 
tion. One  book  read  thoroughly  and  with  careful 
reflection  will  do  more  to  improve  the  mind  and 
enrich  the  understanding  than  skimming  over  the 
surface  of  a  whole  library.  The  more  one  reads  in 
a  busy,  superficial  manner,  the  worse.  It  is  like 
loading  the  stomach  with  a  great  quantity  of  food, 
which  lies  there  undigested.  It  enfeebles  the  intel- 
lect, and  sheds  darkness  and  confusion  over  all  the 
operations  of  the  mind.  The  mind,  like  the  body,  is 
strengthened  by  exercise,  and  the  severer  the  exer- 
cise the  greater  the  increase  of  strength.  One  hour 
of  thorough,  close  application  to  study  does  more  to 
invigorate  and  improve  the  mind  than  a  week  spent 
in  the  ordinary  exercise  of  its  powers.  We  should 
read  slowly,  carefully,  and  with  reflection.  We  some- 
times rush  over  pages  of  valuable  matter  because  at 
a  glance  they  seem  to  be  dull,  and  we  hurry  along 
to  see  how  the  story,  if  it  be  a  story,  is  to  end. 

At  every  action  and  enterprise  ask  yourself  this 
question :  What  shall  the  consequences  of  this  be  to 
me?  Am  I  not  likely  to  repent  of  it?  Whatever 
thou  takest  in  hand,  remember  the  end,  and  thou 
Shalt  never  do  amiss.  Take  time  to  deliberate  and 


MENTAL  TRAINING.  193 

advise,  but  lose  no  time  in  executing  your  resolu- 
tion. To  perceive  accurately  and  to  think  correctly 
is  the  aim  of  all  mental  training.  Heart  and  con- 
science are  more  than  the  mere  intellect.  Yet  we 
know  not  how  much  the  clear,  clean-cut  thought,  the 
intellectual  vision,  sharp  and  true,  may  aid  even 
these.  Undigested  learning  is  as  oppressive  as  un- 
digested food ;  and,  as  with  the  dyspeptic  patient,  the 
appetite  for  food  often  grows  with  the  inability  to 
digest  it,  so  in  the  unthinking  patient  an  overweening 
desire  to  know  often  accompanies  the  inability  to  know 
to  any  purpose.  To  learn  merely  for  the  sake  of 
learning  is  like  eating  merely  for  the  taste  of  the  food. 
To  learn  in  order  to  become  wise  makes  the  mind 
active  and  powerful,  like  the  body  of  one  who  is  tem- 
perate and  judicious  in  meat  and  drink. 

Thought  is  to  the  brain  what  gastric  juice  is  to  the 
stomach — a  solvent  to  reduce  whatever  is  received  to 
a  condition  in  which  all  that  is  wholesome  and  nutri- 
tive may  be  appropriated,  and  that  alone.  Learning 
is  healthfully  digested  by  the  mind  when  it  reflects 
upon  what  is  learned,  classifies  and  arranges  facts 
and  circumstances,  considers  the  relations  of  one  to 
another,  and  places  what  is  taken  into  the  mind  at 
different  times  in  relation  to  the  same  subjects  under 
their  appropriate  heads,  so  that  the  various  stores  are 
not  heterogeneously  piled  up,  but  laid  away  in  order, 
and  may  be  examined  with  ease  when  wanted.  This 
is  the  perfection  of  mental  training  and  discipline, — • 
memory  well  trained,  judgment  quick  to  act,  and 
attention  sharp  to  observe.  We  invite  and  urge  all 

13 


194  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

to  turn  their  attention  to  this  subject  as  something 
worthy  of  those  endowed  with  reasoning  powers. 
It  is  not  a  wearying  task,  but  one  which  repays  for 
its  undertaking  by  making  much  more  rich  in  its 
joys  and  inspiring  in  its  hopes  all  the  after-life  of 
the  man  or  woman  who  went  forth  bravely  to  the 
work  which  heaven  has  decreed  as  the  lot  of  all  who 
would  enjoy  the  greatest  good  of  life. 


, 

»AN    is  a  wonderful   union   of  mind   and   body, 

and  to  form  a  perfect  being  a  high  degree  of 
cultivation  is  required  for  each  component 
part.  'Hiose  who  cultivate  the  mental  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  mere  bodily,  or  at  least  carelessly 
pass  by  its  claims,  are  no  -less  in  error  than  those 
who  cultivate  the  bodily  faculties  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  mental.  The  aim  of  all  attempts  at  self-cultiva- 
tion should  be  the  highest  and  most  appropriate  de- 
velopment of  the  entire  being — physical,  intellectual, 
and  moral.  It  comprehends  the  health  of  the  body, 
the  expansion  of  the  intellect,  the  purification  of  the 
heart.  It  guards  the  health,  because  a  feeble  body 
acts  powerfully  on  the  mind,  and  is  a  clog  to  its 
progress.  It  cherishes  the  intellect,  because  it  is  the 
glory  of  the  human  being.  It  trains  the  moral 
nature,  because  if  that  is  weak  and  misdirected  a 
blight  falls  upon  the  soul  and  a  curse  rests  upon  the 


SELF-CULTURE.  195 

body.  As  each  faculty  reacts  upon  all  the  others, 
true  self-culture  attends  with  a  due  proportion  of  care 
to  each.  It  strives  to  retain  one  power  whose  action 
is  too  intense,  and  to  stimulate  another  which  is 
torpid,  until  they  act  in  delightful  harmony  with  each 
other,  and  the  result  is  the  healthful  progress  toward 
the  highest  point  of  attainable  good. 

Self-culture  includes  a  proper  care  of  the  health 
of  the  body.  To  be  careless  of  your  health  is  to  be 
stunted  in  intellect  and  miserable  in  feelings.  You 
might  as  well  expect  to  enjoy  life  in  a  dilapidated  and 
ruined  habitation,  which  affords  free  admission  to  the 
freezing  blast  and  the  pitiless  rain,  as  to  be  happy  in 
a  body  ruined  by  self-indulgence.  The  body  is  the 
home  of  the  soul.  Can  its  mysterious  tenant  find 
rest  and  unmixed  joy  within  its  chambers  if  daily  ex- 
posed to  sharp  and  shivering  shocks  through  its 
aching  joints  or  quivering  nerves  ?  How  many  bright 
intellects  have  failed  of  making  any  impression  upon 
the  world  simply  because  they  neglected  the  most 
obvious  of  hygienic  laws  !  If  God  has  bestowed  upon 
you  the  inestimable  gift  of  good  health  and  a  good 
constitution,  it  is  your  duty,  as  a  rational  creature,  to 
preserve  it.  To  expect  vigorous  health  and  the  en- 
joyment which  it  brings,  and  at  the  same  time  live  in 
open  defiance  of  the  laws  of  health,  is  to  expect  what 
can  not  take  place.  Not  only  is  good  health  thus  of 
value  and  one  of  the  most  important  ends  of  self- 
cultivation,  but  we  would  impress  on  all  the  fact 
that  the  body  is  just  as  important  a  factor  as 
the  mind  in  the  work  of  success,  that  it  is  just  as 


196  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

worthy  to  be  cultivated,  so  as  to  grow  in  strength 
and  beauty,  and  the  development  of  all  those  faculties 
which  go  to  make  a  physically  perfect  man  or  woman. 

It  is  a  sad  sight  to  see  a  brilliant  mind  that  has 
dragged  down  a  strong  body,  because  it  has  been  so 
imperious  in  its  demands,  leaving  its  companion  to 
suffer  for  lack  of  attention  to  some  of  its  plainest 
wants.  It  reminds  one  of  a  crazy  building,  tottering 
under  its  own  weight,  yet  full  of  the  most  costly  ma- 
chinery, which  can  be  run,  if  at  all,  only  with  the 
greatest  caution,  or  the  entire  fabric  will  crumble  to 
ruins.  The  lesson  can  not  be  too  soon  learned  that, 
while  the  human  body  is  most  wonderfully  complex 
in  its  organization,  still  such  is  the  perfection  of  all 
nature's  works  that  all  that  is  demanded  of  us  is 
compliance  with  simple  rules,  to  enable  us  to  enjoy 
health.  That  it  is  our  duty  as  well  as  our  privilege 
to  so  train  and  cultivate  the  body  that  it  will  answer 
readily  all  demands  made  upon  it  by  an  enlightened 
mind,  and  will  perform  all  its  appropriate  functions  in 
the  great  work  of  life. 

Self-culture  also  implies  suitable  efforts  to  expand 
and  strengthen  the  intellect  by  reading,  by  reflection, 
and  by  writing  down  your  thoughts.  The  strength 
and  vigor  given  to  the  mind  by  self-culture  is  not 
materially  different  from  that  expressed  by  the  term 
education  in  its  broad  and  comprehensive  meaning. 
Intellect  being  the  crowning  glory  and  chief  attribute 
of  man,  there  can  be  no  nobler  aim  to  set  before 
one's  self  than  that  of  expanding  and  quickening  all 
of  its  powers.  Rightly  lived  our  every-day  life  and 


SELF-CULTURE. '  197 

actions  conduce  to  this  result.  Our  education  is  by 
no  means  entirely  the  product  of  organized  schools. 
Our  hired  teachers  and  printed  books  are  not  all 
that  act  on  our  powers  to  develop  them.  Life  is 
one  grand  school,  and  its  every  circumstance  a 
teacher.  Society  pours  in  its  influence  upon  us  like 
the  thousand  streams  that  flood  the  ocean. 

Scholastic  men  and  women  speak  of  book  educa- 
tion ;  there  is  also  a  life  education — that  great,  com- 
mon arena  where  men  and  women  do  battle  with  the 
forces  around  them.  Our  duty  is  so  to  guide  and 
control  these  influences  as  to  be  educated  in  the 
right  direction.  We  should  recognize  the  fact  that 
we  are  educating  all  the  time,  and  the  great  question 
for  us  to  settle  is,  "What  manner  of  education  are 
we  receiving?"  Some  are  educated  in  vice,  some  in 
folly,  some  in  selfishness,  some  in  deception,  some  in 
goodness,  some  in  truth.  Every  day  gives  us  many 
lessons  in  life.  Every  thought  leaves  its  impression 
on  the  mind.  Every  feeling  weaves  a  garment  for 
the  spirit.  Every  passion  plows  a  furrow  in  the 
soul.  It  is  our  duty  as  sentient,  moral  beings  so  to 
guide  and  direct  these  thoughts,  feelings,  and  pas- 
sions that  they  shall  educate  us  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. We  are  lax  in  duty  to  ourselves  to  let  the 
world  educate  us  as  it  will,  for  we  are  running  a 
great  risk  to  yield  ourselves  up  to  the  circumstances 
life  has  thrown  about  us,  to  plunge  into  the  stream 
of  popular  custom  and  allow  ourselves  to  drift  with 
the  current. 

But  aside  from  the  practical  education  of  every- 


198  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

day  life  we  are  to  remember,  in  our  efforts  after 
self-culture,  that  it  is  also  obligatory  upon  us  to  seek 
the  discipline  afforded  by  books  and  study.  In  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge  follow  it  wherever  it  is  to  be 
found ;  like  fern,  it  is  the  product  of  all  climates, 
and,  like  air,  its  circulation  is  not  restricted  to  any 
particular  class.  Any  and  every  legitimate  means 
of  acquiring  information  is  to  be  pursued,  and  all 
the  odds  and  bits  of  time  pressed  into  use.  Set  a 
high  price  upon  your  leisure  moments.  They  are 
sands  of  precious  gold ;  properly  expended  they  will 
procure  for  you  a  stock  of  great  thoughts — thoughts 
that  will  fill,  stir,  invigorate,*  and  expand  the  soul. 
As  the  magnificent  river,  rolling  in  the  pride  of  its 
mighty  waters,  owes  its  greatness  to  the  hidden 
springs  of  the  mountain  nook,  so  does  the  wide, 
sweeping  influence  of  distinguished  men  date  its 
origin  from  hours  of  privacy  resolutely  employed  in 
efforts  after  self-development. 

We  should  esteem  those  moments  best  improved 
which  are  employed  in  developing  our  own  thoughts, 
rather  than  in  acquiring  those  of  others,  since  in  this 
kind  of  intellectual  exercise  our  powers  are  best 
brought  into  action  and  disciplined  for  use.  Knowl- 
edge acquired  by  labor  becomes  a  possession  —  a 
property  entirely  our  own.  A  greater  vividness  of 
impression  is  secured,  and  facts  thus  acquired  be- 
come registered  in  the  mind  in  a  way  that  mere 
imparted  information  fails  of  securing.  A  habit  of 
observation  and  reflection  is  well-nigh  every  thing. 
He  who  has  spent  his  whole  life  in  traveling  may 


SELF-CULTURE.  199 

live  and  die  a  thorough  novice  in  ~most  of  the  im- 
portant affairs  of  life,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
man  may  be  confined  to  a  narrow  sphere  and  be 
engrossed  in  the  prosaic  affairs  of  every-day  life, 
and  yet  have  very  correct  ideas  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  other  nations.  He  that  studies  only  men 
will  get  the  body  of  knowledge  without  the  soul ;  he 
that  studies  only  books,  the  soul  without  the  body. 
He  that  to  what  he  sees  adds  observation,  and  to 
what  he  reads,  reflection,  is  in  the  right  road  to 
knowledge,  provided  that  in  scrutinizing  the  hearts 
of  others  he  neglects  not  his  own.  Be  not  dismayed 
at  doubts,  for  remember  that  doubt  is  the  vestibule 
through  which  all  must  pass  before  they  can  enter 
into  the  temple  of  wisdom  ;  therefore,  when  we  are 
in  doubt  and  puzzle  out  the  truth  by  our  own  exer- 
tions, we  have  gained  a  something  which  will  stay  by 
us  and  serve  us  again.  But  if  to  avoid  the  trouble 
of  a  search  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  superior  infor- 
mation of  a  friend,  such  knowledge  will  not  remain 
with  us ;  we  have  borrowed  it  and  not  bought  it. 

But  man  possesses  something  more  than  a  mere 
body  and  intellect;  he  is  the  possessor  of  moral  fac- 
ulties as  well.  A  true  self-culture  will  be  none  the 
less  careful  to  have  the  actions  of  these  refined  and 
pure  than  it  is  to  possess  physical  health  on  the  one 
hand  and  mental  vigor  on  the  other.  Indeed,  since 
your  happiness  depends  upon  their  healthful  condi- 
tion more  than  upon  the  state  of  your  body  and  in- 
tellect, your  first  care  should  be  devoted  to  giving 
careful  attention  to  your  moral  nature.  With  disor- 


200  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

dered  moral  faculties  you  will  be  as  a  ship  without 
a  helm,  dashed  on  bars  and  rocks  at  the  will  of  winds 
and  waves.  It  is  the  vice  of  the  age  to  substitute 
learning  for  wisdom,  to  educate  the  head,  and  to  for- 
get that  there  is  a  more  important  education  neces- 
sary for  the  heart.  Let  the  heart  be  opened  and  a 
thousand  virtues  rush  in.  There  is  dew  in  one  flower 
and  not  in  another,  because  one  opens  its  cup  and 
takes  it  in,  while  the  other  closes  itself  and  the  drop 
runs  off.  God  rains  his  goodness  and  mercy  as  wide- 
spread as  the  dew,  and  if  we  lack  them  it  is  because 
we  know  not  how  to  open  our  hearts.to  receive  them. 
No  man  can  tell  whether  he  is  rich  or  poor  by  turn- 
ing to  his  ledger.  It  is  the  heart  that  makes  a  man 
rich.  He  is  rich  or  poor  according  to  wrhat  he  is, 
and  not  what  he  has.  Cultivate  your  moral  nature, 
then,  as  well  as  bodily  strength  and  mental  vigor. 
The  heart  is  the  center  of  vitality  in  the  physical 
body;  so  the  moral  senses  seem  to  give  vitality  to 
all  the  various  faculties  of  the  mind.  If  the  moral 
nature  becomes  stunted  in  its  development  the  mind 
is  apt  to  become  chaotic  in  its  action.  How  often  we 
meet  with  examples  of  this  character  in  the  common 
walks  of  life !  Many  lose  their  balance  of  mind  and 
become  wrecks  from  want  of  heart  culture.  Is  the 
head  of  more  importance  than  the  heart?  It  is  true 
that  wealth  is  the  child  of  the  one,  but  it  is  equally 
true  that  happiness  is  the  offspring  of  the  other. 

Such,  then,  is  an  outline  of  the  great  problem  of 
self-culture.  We  can  not  escape  its  claims ;  from  the 
time  reason  dawns  until  death  closes  the  scene  they 


LITERATURE.  201 

are  pressing  upon  you.  Much  of  the  happiness  of 
life,  both  here  and  hereafter,  depends  on  how  you 
meet  its  demands.  You  can,  if  you  but  will  it,  grow 
apace  in  all  that  is  manly  or  womanly  in  life;  or,  by 
neglecting  the  claims  of  your  manifold  nature,  as 
utterly  fail  of  so  doing  as  the  stunted  shrub  fails  cf 
being  the  stately  tree  with  waving  branches  and  lux- 
uriant foliage. 


influence  of  literature  upon  a  country  is 
well-nigh  incalculable.  The  Druid  warriors 
were  incited  to  deeds  of  desperate  valor  by 
the  songs  of  their  bards  ;  and  in  modern  times 
victories  are  achieved  by  the  writers  of  books  no  less 
important  than  many  won  on  tented  fields.  The  lit- 
erature of  a  nation  molds  the  thoughts  of  a  whole 
people,  guides  their  actions,  and  impresses  its  indel- 
ible mark  upon  the  lives  and  conduct  of  its  citizens. 
Who  can  estimate  the  effect  of  Voltaire's  writings  on 
the  French  people  ?  The  results  for  which  many 
philanthropists  toiled  in  vain  were  achieved  by  the 
works  of  Dickens.  The  power  of  books  and  litera- 
ture is  no  less  marked  in  the  individual  than  in  the 
mass.  To  the  weak,  and  to  the  strong  in  their  times 
ol  weakness,  books  are  inspiring  friends  and  teachers. 
Against  the  feebleness  of  individual  efforts  they  pro- 
claim the  victory  of  faith  and  patience,  and  against 


202  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE 

the  uncertainties  and  discouragement  of  one  day's 
work  they  set  forth  the  richer  and  more  complete  life 
that  results  from  perseverance  in  right  actions.  It 
sets  the  mind  more  and  more  in  harmony  with  the 
noblest  aims,  and  holds  before  it  a  crown  of  honor 
and  power. 

There  is  a  certain  monotony  in  daily  life,  and 
there  are  those  whose  aims  are  high,  but  who  lack 
the  inherent  strength  to  stand  true  to  them  amid 
adverse  influences,  and  so  gradually  drop  out  of  the 
ever-thinning  ranks  of  those  who  would  wrest  from 
Fame  her  richest  trophies.  They  are  conquered  by 
routine,  and  disheartened  by  the  discipline  and  labor 
that  guard  the  prizes  of  life.  Even  to  the  resolute, 
persevering  ones  there  are  hours  of  weakness  and 
weariness.  To  all  such  literature  comes  with  its 
helping  hand  in  hours  of  discouragement.  It  revives 
hope  in  the  minds  of  those  almost  discouraged,  and 
brings  the  comforts  of  philosophy  to  the  cast-down. 
Books  are  a  guide  to  youth  and  an  inspiration  for 
age.  They  support  us  under  solitude,  and  keep  us 
from  becoming  a  burden  to  ourselves.  They  lessen 
our  cares,  compose  our  passions,  and  lay  our  disap- 
pointments asleep.  When  weary  of  the  living,  we 
may,  by  their  aid,  repair  to  the  dead,  who  have 
nothing  of  peevishness,  pride,  or  design  in  their  con- 
versation. 

In  books  we  live  continually  in  the  decisive  mo- 
ments of  history,  and  in  the  deepest  experience  of 
individual  lives.  The  flowers  which  we  cull  painfully 
and  at  long  intervals  in  our  personal  history  blossom 


LITERATURE.  203 

in  profusion  here,  and  the  air  is  full  of  fragrance 
which  touches  our  own  life  only  in  its  happier  times. 
In  our  libraries  we  meet  great  minds  on  an  equality, 
and  feel  at  ease  with  them.  We  come  to  know  them 
better,  perhaps,  than  those  who  bear  their  names 
and  sit  at  their  tables.  The  reserve  that  makes  so 
many  fine  natures  difficult  of  access  is  here  entirely 
lost.  No  carelessness  of  manner,  no  poverty  of 
speech  or  unfortunate  personal  peculiarity,  mars  the 
intercourse  of  author  and  reader.  It  is  a  relation  in 
which  the  exchange  of  thought  is  undisturbed  by 
outward  conditions.  We  lose  our  narrow  selves  in 
the  broader  life1  that  is  open  to  us.  We  forget  the 
hindrance  and  limitation  of  our  own  work  in  the  full 
comprehension  of  that  stronger  life  that  can  not  be 
bound  nor  confined,  but  grows  in  all  soils,  and  climbs 
heavenward  under  every  sky. 

Literature  is  the  soul  of  action,  the  only  sensible 
articulate  voice  of  the  accomplished  facts  of  the  past. 
The  men  of  antiquity  are  dead ;  their  cities  are 
ruins  ;  their  temples  are  dust ;  their  fleets  and  ar- 
mies have  disappeared  ;  yet  all  these  exist  in  magic 
preservation  in  the  literature  which  they  have  be- 
queathed to  us,  and  their  manners  and  their  deeds 
are  as  familiar  to  us  as  the  events  of  yesterday. 
Papers  and  books  are  really  the  teachers,  guides, 
and  lawgivers  of  the  world  to-day.  Their  influence 
is  very  much  like  that  of  a  companion  to  whom  we 
are  attached.  Hence  it  is  of  more  consequence  to 
know  what  class  to  avoid  than  what  to  choose ;  for 
good  books  are  as  scarce  as  good  companions,  and 


204  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

in  both  instances  all  we  can  learn  from  bad  ones  is 
that  so  much  time  has  been  worse  than  thrown  away. 

We  should  choose  our  books  as  we  do  our 
friends,  for  their  sterling  and  intrinsic  merit,  not  for 
the  accidental  circumstances  in  their  favor.  For, 
with  books  as  with  men,  it  seldom  happens  that  their 
performances  are  fully  equal  to  their  pretensions,  nor 
their  capital  to  their  credit.  As  we  should  always 
seek  the  companionship  of  the  best  class  of  people, 
so  we  should  always  seek  the  companionship  of  the 
best  books.  He  that  will  have  no  books  but  such 
as  are  scarce  evinces  about  as  correct  a  taste  in  lit- 
erature as  he  would  do  in  friendship  who  should  have 
no  friends  but  those  whom  the  rest  of  the  world  have 
discarded.  Some  books  we  should  make  our  con- 
stant companions  and  associates  ;  others  we  should 
receive  only  as  occasional  acquaintances  and  visitors. 
Some  we  should  take  with  us  wherever  we  go ;  oth- 
ers we  should  leave  behind  us  forever.  Some,  of 
gilded  outsides,  are  full  of  depravity,  and  we  should 
shun  them  as  we  would  the  actual  vices  which  they 
represent.  Some  books  we  should  keep  in  our  hands 
and  lay  on  our  hearts,  while  the  best  we  could  dis- 
pose of  others  would  be  to  throw  them  in  the  fire. 

You  may  judge  a  man  more  truly  by  the  books 
and  papers  that  he  reads  than  by  the  company  which 
he  keeps,  for  his  associates  are  in  a  measure  imposed 
upon  him  ;  but  his  reading  is  the  result  of  choice ; 
and  the  man  who  chooses  a  certain  class  of  books  and 
papers  unconsciously  becomes  more  colored  in  their 
views,  more  rooted  in  their  opinions,  and  the  mind 


LITERATURE.  205 

becomes  trained  to  their  way  of  thinking.  All  the 
life  and  feeling  of  a  young  girl  fascinated  by  some 
glowing  love  romance  is  colored  and  shaped  by  the 
page  she  reads.  If  it  is  false  and  weak  and  foolish, 
she  is  false  and  weak  and  foolish  too;  but  if  it  is 
true  and  tender  and  inspiring,  then  something  of  its 
truth  and  tenderness  and  inspiration  will  grow  into 
her  soul,  and  will  become  a  part  of  her  very  self. 
The  boy  who  reads  of  deeds  of  manliness,  of  bravery 
and  noble  doing,  feels  the  spirit  of  emulation  grow 
within  him,  and  the  seed  is  planted  which  will  bring 
forth  fruit  of  heroic  endeavor  and  exalted  life. 

In  literature  our  tastes  will  be  discovered  by  what 
we  give,  our  judgment  by  that  which  we  withhold. 
That  writer  does  the  most  who  gives  his  readers  the 
most  knowledge  and  takes  from  them  the  least  time, 
for  that  period  of  existence  is  alone  deserving  the 
name  of  life  which  is  rationally  employed.  Those 
books  are  most  profitable  to  read  which  make  the 
readers  think  most.  Diminutive  books,  like  diminu- 
tive men  and  women,  may  be  of  greater  value  than 
they  seem  to  be ;  but  great  tomes  are  greatly 
dreaded.  It  is  a  saying  that  "books  file  away  the 
mind."  Much  reading  is  certainly  not  profitable 
without  much  meditation,  and  many  vigorous  and 
profound  thinkers  have  read  comparatively  little, 
though  it 'must  be  admitted  most  great  minds  have 
been  very  devout  and  ardent  readers.  There  is 
scarcely  any  thing  that  is  not  to  be  found  in  books, 
but  it  does  not  follow  that  we  shall  find  every  thing 
in  them  unless  we  handle  them  with  great  care. 


206  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

A  beautiful  literature  springs  from  the  depths 
and  fullness  of  intellectual  and  moral  life,  from  an 
energy  of  thought  and  feeling.  It  deals  with  ques- 
tions of  life  in  a  plain,  practical  manner.  It  holds  up 
the  past  for  your  inspection.  It  brings  to  light  the 
'secrets  of  nature.  It  enables  us  to  discover  the  in- 
finity of  things,  the  immensity  of  nature,  the  wonders 
of  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  seas.  Works  of 
fiction  are  the  ornamental  parts  of  literature  and  learn- 
ing. They  are  agreeable  embellishments  of  the  edi- 
fice, but  poor  foundations  for  it  to  rest  upon.  The 
literature  of  the  day  is  largely  composed  of  newspapers 
and  periodicals.  No  one  can  too  highly  appreciate 
the  magic  power  of  the  press  or  too  highly  depreciate 
its  abuse.  Newspapers  have  become  the  great  high- 
way of  that  intelligence  which  exerts  a  controlling 
power  over  a  nation,  catering  the  every-day  food  of 
the  mind.  Show  us  an  intelligent  family  of  boys  and 
girls,  and  we  will  show  you  a  family  where  newspapers 
and  periodicals  are  plenty.  Nobody  who  has  been 
without  these  private  -tutors  can  know  their  educating 
power  for  good  or  for  evil.  Think  of  the  innumerable 
topics  of  discussion  which  they  suggest  at  the  table  ; 
the  important  public  measures  with  which  the  children 
thus  early  become  acquainted  ;  of  the  great  philan- 
thropic questions  to  which,  unconsciously  perhaps, 
their  attention  is  called,  and  the  general  spirit  of  in- 
telligence which  is  evoked  by  these  quiet  visitors. 
This  vast  world  moves  along  lines  of  thought  and 
sentiment  and  principles,  and  the  press  gives  to  these 
wings  to  fly  and  tongues  to  speak. 


MESIAL  POWER.  20' 


'My  mind  to  me  a  kingdom  is; 
Such  perfect  joy  therein  I  find 
As  far  exceeds  all  earthly  bliss. 
Though  much  I  want  that  most  would  have, 
Yet  still  my  mind  forbids  to  crave." 

— SIR  EDMUND  DYER. 


jHE  triumph  of  cultivated  intellect  over  the  forces 
5  of  nature  is  indeed  a  wonderful  subject  for  con- 
templation. The  most  deadly  poisons  are  made 
to  conduce  to  human  health  and  welfare.  Elec- 
tricity does  the  writing  and  talking,  and  annihilates 
space.  Steam  and  iron  are  made  to  do  the  work  of 
nerves  and  muscles,  and  lay  the  four  corners  of  the 
world  under  contribution  for  our  benefit.  In  view  of 
these  and  many  similar  facts,  how  full  of  meaning 
becomes  the  old  saying,  "  Knowledge  is  power !" 
Reason,  like  the  magnetic  influence  imparted  to  iron, 
may  be  said  to  give  to  matter  properties  and  powers 
which  it  did  not  possess  before  ;  but,  without  extend- 
ing its  bulk,  augmenting  its  weight,  or  altering  its 
organization,  it  is  visible  only  by  its  effects  and  per- 
ceptible only  by  its  operations. 

Unlike  those  of  the  warriors,  the  triumphs  of  in- 
tellect derive  all  their  luster,  not  from  the  evil  they 
have  produced,  but  from  the  good.  Her  successes 
and  her  conquests  are  the  common  property  of  the 
world,  and  succeeding  ages  will  be  the  watchful  guardi- 
ans of  the  rich  legacies  she  bequeathes.  The  trophies 
and  titles  of  the  conqueror  are  on  the  quick  march 


208  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

to  oblivion,  and  amid  that  desolation  where  they  were 
planted  will  decay.  As  the  mind  must  govern  the 
hand,  so  in  every  society  the  man  of  intelligence 
must  direct  and  govern  the  man  of  ignorance.  There 
is  no  exception  to  this  law.  It  is  the  natural  sequence 
of  the  dominion  of  mind  over  matter — a  dominion  so 
strong  that  for  a  time  it  can  make  flesh  and  nerves 
impregnable,  and  string  the  sinews  like  steel,  so  that 
the  weak  become  strong.  Some  men  of  a  secluded 
and  studious  life  have  sent  forth  from  their  closet  or' 
cloister  rays  of  intellectual  light  that  have  agitated 
courts  and  revolutionized  kingdoms,  as  the  moon, 
that  far  removed  from  the  ocean,  and  shining  upon 
it  with  a  serene  and  sober  light,  is  the  chief  cause 
of  all  those  ebbings  and  flowings  which  incessantly 
disturb  that  world  of  waters. 

The  triumph  of  mind  is  shown  in  various  ways. 
It  enables  us  to  surmount  difficulties  with  facility. 
Like  imprisoned  steam,  the  more  it  is  pressed,  the 
more  it  rises  to  resist  the  pressure.  The  more  we 
are  obliged  to  do,  the  more  we  are  able  to  accom- 
plish. Perhaps  in  no  other  respect  is  the  power  of 
mind  more  signally  shown  than  when  it  opens  to 
our  view  avenues  of  pleasure  before  unthought  of. 
Happiness  is  the  great  aim  of  life.  In  one  form  or 
another  we  are  all  striving  for  it.  There  are  no 
pleasures  so  pure  as  mental  pleasures.  We  never 
tire  of  them.  A  lofty  mind  always  thinks  loftily.  It 
easily  creates  vivid,  agreeable,  and  natural  fancies, 
places  them  in  their  best  light,  clothes  them  with  all 
appropriate  adornments,  studies  others'  tastes,  and 


MEXTAL  POWER.  209 

clears  away  from  its  own  thoughts  all  that  is  useless 
and  disagreeable.  Mental  force  or  power  is  not  the 
inheritance  of  birth,  nor  the  result  of  a  few  years' 
spasmodic  study  ;  it  is  only  acquired  as  the  result  of 
long  and  patient  exertion.  There  is  no  age  at  which 
it  can  not  be  increased.  There  is  absolutely  no 
branch  of  literature  which,  when  properly  digested 
and  stowed  away  in  the  mind,  will  not  show  its  effect 
in  after  life  by  increased  vigor  in  the  whole  mind. 
Those  intellectually  strong  men  and  women  who 
have  left  their  influence  on  the  world's  history  are 
almost  without  exception  found  to  be  those  who  have 
possessed  broad  and  deep  acquirements ;  who  have 
permitted  no  opportunity  for  obtaining  information  to 
pass  unimproved ;  who  have  been  content  for  years 
to  store  away  knowledge,  confident  that  in  the  fullness 
of  time  they  would  reap  the  reward. 

If  any  one  would  be  the  possessor  of  mental 
power  he  must  be  willing  to  do  his  duty  in  obtaining 
it.  There  is  a  tendency  to  make  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge,  at  the  present  day,  as  easy  as  possible-.. 
The  end  proposed  is  good,  but  the  means  employed' 
are  of  doubtful  utility.  Instead  of  toiling  painfully 
on  foot  up  the  rugged  steeps  of  learning  the  student 
of  to-day  flies  along  a  railway  track,  finding  every 
cliff  cut  through  and  every  valley  bridged.  In  this 
world  nothing  of  value  is  to  be  obtained  without  la- 
bor. So  there  are  some  who  will  question  the  value  of 
that  education  which  is  not  born  of  patient  persever- 
ance and  hard  work.  As  in  the  exercises  of  the  gym- 
nasium the  value  consists  in  the  exertions  required  to 
«4 


210  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

perform  them,  so  that  knowledge  and  mental  power 
acquired  by  arduous  exertion  is  of  the  most  lasting 
and  real  value.  Let  patient  toilers  find  a  lesson  of 
encouragement  in  this.  What  you  thus  painfully  ac- 
quire will  prove  of  lasting  benefit  to  you. 

Mental  power  is  seen  in  its  best  form  only  when 
all  of  the  mental  faculties  have  been  properly  drilled 
and  disciplined.  The  mind  can  not  grow  to  its  full 
stature,  nor  be  rounded  into  just  proportions,  nor  ac- 
quire that  blended  litlieness,  toughness,  and  elasticity 
which  it  needs,  if  fed  on  one  aliment.  There  is  no 
profession  or  calling  which,  if  too  exclusively  followed, 
will  not  warp  and  contract  the  mind.  Just  as  if,  in 
the  body,  a  person  resolves  to  be  a  rower,  and  only 
a  rower,  the  chances  are  that  he  will  have,  indeed, 
strong  arms,  but  weak  legs,  and  eyes  blinded  by  the 
glare  of  water.  O»*,  if  ho  desiies  to  become  an  ath- 
lete, he  may  be  all  muscles,  with  few  brains.  So,  in 
the  mind,  if  he  exercises  but  one  set  of  faculties  and 
neglects  the  rest,  he  may  become  a  subtle  theolo- 
gian or  a  sharp  lawyer,  a  keen  man  of  business,  or 
a  practical  mechanic,  and  though  the  possessor  of 
power  it  is  not  power  in  its  highest  and  best  form. 

But  for  those  who  are  anxious  to  obtain  mental 
power,  and  for  that  purpose  devote  the  years  of  a  life- 
time to  patient  study  and  reflection,  the  rewards  it 
offers  are  full  compensation  for  all  the  hours  of  weary, 
self-denying  labor.  Not  only  does  it  afford  the  best 
assurance  of  success  in  life's  battles  and  point  out  to 
its  possessor  means  of  happiness  denied  to  others, 
but  it  is  so  peculiarly  the  highest  form  of  power  to 


CHOICE  OF  COMPANIONS.  211 

which  men  can  aspire  that  it  commands  the  homage 
of  all,  and  reposes  as  a  jewel  in  the  crown  of  the 
true  man  or  woman. 


|HE  chameleon  changes  its  color  to  agree  with 
that  of  surrounding  objects.  We  all  of  us  by 
nature  possess  this  quality  to  such  a  degree 
that  our  character,  habits,  and  principles  take 
their  form  and  color  from  those  of  our  intimate  as- 
sociates. Association  with  persons  wiser,  better,  and 
more  experienced  than  ourselves  is  always  more  or 
less  inspiring  and  invigorating.  They  enhance  our 
knowledge  of  life.  We  correct  our  estimate  by  theirs, 
and  become  partners  in  their  wisdom.  We  enlarge 
our  field  of  observation  through  their  eyes,  profit  by 
their  experience,  and  learn  not  only  by  what  they 
have  enjoyed,  but — which  is  still  more  instructive — 
from  what  they  have  suffered.  If  they  are  stronger 
than  ourselves,  we  become  participators  in  their 
strength.  Hence  companionship  with  the  wise  and 
energetic  never  fails  to  have  a  most  valuable  influence 
on  the  formation  of  character — increasing  our  re- 
sources, strengthening  our  resolves,  elevating  our 
aims,  and  enabling  us  to  exercise  greater  dexterity 
and  ability  in  our  own  affairs,  as  well  as  more  effect- 
ive helpfulness  in  those  of  others. 

Young  men   are  in  general  but  little  aware  ho\v 


212  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

much  their  reputation  is  affected  in  the  view  of  the 
public  by  the  company  they  keep.  The  character  of 
their  associates  is  soon  regarded  as  their  own.  If 
they  seek  the  society  of  the  worthy  and  the  respect- 
able, it  elevates  them  in  the  public  estimation,  as  it  is 
an  evidence  that  they  respect  themselves,  and  are  de- 
sirous to  secure  the  respect  of  others.  On  the  con- 
trary, intimacy  with  persons  of  bad  character  always 
sinks  a  young  man  in  the  eyes  of  the  public.  While 
he,  in  intercourse  with  such  persons,  thinks  but  little 
of  the  consequences,  others  are  making  their  remarks. 
They  learn  what  his  taste  is,  what  sort  of  company 
he  prefers,  and  predict,  on  no  doubtful  ground,  what 
will  be  the  result  to  his  own  principles  and  character. 
It  is  they  only  who  are  elevated  in  mind,  character, 
and  position,  who  can  lift  us  up ;  while  the  ignoble, 
degraded,  and  debased  only  drag  us  down.  We  may 
be  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  better  and  superior 
associations  at  some  time  or  another,  but,  unless  we 
seek  for  them,  we  shall  not  profit  by  them,  nor  be 
acknowledged  to  be  worthy  of  them. 

No  man  of  position  can  allow  himself  to  associate, 
without  prejudice,  with  the  profane,  the  Sabbath- 
breaking,  the  drunken,  and  the  licentious ;  for  he 
lowers  himself,  without  elevating  them.  The  sweep 
is  not  made  the  less  black  by  rubbing  against  the 
well-dressed  and  the  clean,  while  they  are  inevitably 
defiled.  Keep  company  with  persons  rather  above 
than  below  yourself;  for  gold  in  the  same  pocket 
with  silver  loseth  both  of  its  weight  and  color.  Noth- 
ing elevates  us  so  much  as  the  presence  of  a  spirit 


CHOICE  OF  COMPANIONS.  213 

similar,  yet  superior,  to  our  own.  What  is  compan- 
ionship where  nothing  that  improves  the  intellect  is 
communicated,  and  where  the  larger  heart  contracts 
itself  to  the  mold  and  dimensions  of  the  smaller  ? 
In  all  society  it  is  advisable  to  associate,  if  possible, 
with  the  highest ;  not  that  the  highest  are  always  the 
best,  but  because,  if  disgusted  there,  you  can  at  any 
time  descend  ;  but  if  we  begin  at  the  lowest,  to  ascend 
is  impossible.  It  should  be  the  aim  of  the  young  man 
to  seek  the  society  of  the  wise,  the  intelligent,  and 
the  good.  It  is  always  safe  to  be  found  in  the  society 
of  those  who,  with  a  good  heart,  combine  intelligence 
and  an  ability  to  impart  information.  If  you  wish  to 
oe  respected,  if  you  desire  happiness  and  not  misery, 
associate  only  with  the  intelligent  and  good.  Once 
habituate  yourself  to  a  virtuous  course,  once  secure 
a  love  of  good  society,  and  no  punishment  would  be 
greater  than,  by  accident,  to  be  obliged  to  associate, 
even  for  a  short  time,  with  the  low  and  vulgar. 

He  that  sinks  into  familiarity  with  persons  much 
below  his  own  level  will  be  constantly  weighed  down 
by  his  base  connections,  and,  though  he  may  easily 
sink  lower,  he  will  find  it  hard  to  rise  again.  Better 
be  alone  than  in  bad  company.  "Evil  communica- 
tions corrupt  good  manners."  Ill  qualities  are  catch- 
ing as  well  as  diseases,  and  the  mind  is  at  least  as 
much,  if  not  a  great  deal  more,  liable  to  infections 
than  the  body.  Go  with  mean  people  and  you  think 
life  is  mean.  Society  is  the  atmosphere  of  souls,  and 
we  necessarily  imbibe  something  which  is  either  in- 
fectious or  salubrious.  The  society  of  virtuous  per- 


214  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

sons  is  enjoyed  beyond  their  company,  and  vice 
carries  a  sting  even  into  solitude.  The  society  you 
keep  is  both  the  indicator  and  former  of  your  char- 
acter. In  company,  when  the  pores  of  the  mind  are 
all  opened,  there  requires  more  guard  than  usual,  be- 
cause the  mind  is  then  passive.  In  vicious  company 
you  will  feel  your  reverence  for  the  dictates  of  con- 
science wear  off.  The  name  at  which  angels  bow 
and  devils  tremble  you  will  hear  contemned  and 
abused.  The  Bible  will  supply  materials  for  unmean- 
ing jests  or  impious  buffoonery.  The  consequences 
will  be  a  practical  deviation  into  vice — the  principle 
will  become  sapped  and  the  fences  of  conscience 
broken  down. 

It  is  not  alone  the  low  and  dissipated,  the  vulgar 
and  profane,  from  whose  example  and  society  you 
are  in  danger.  These  persons  of  reputation  will 
despise  and  shun.  But  there  are  persons  of  ap- 
parently decent  morals,  of  polished  manners  and 
interesting  talents,  but  who,  at  the  same  time,  are 
unprincipled  and  wicked,  who  make  light  of  sacred 
things,  scoff  at  religion,  and  deride  the  suggestions 
and  scruples  of  a  tender  conscience  as  superstition, — 
these  are  the  persons  whose  society  and  influence  are 
most  to  be  feared.  Their  breath  is  pollution ;  their 
embrace,  death.  Unhappily  there  are  many  of  this 
description.  They  mark  out  their  unwary  victims ; 
they  gradually  draw  them  into  their  toils ;  they  strike 
the  deadly  fang,  infuse  the  poison,  and  exult  to  see 
youthful  virtue  and  parental  hope  wither  and  expire 
under  their  ruffian  example.  Many  a  young  man 


CHOICE  OF  COMPANIONS.  215 

has  thus  been  led  on  by  his  elders  in  iniquity  till  he 
has  been  initiated  into  all  the  mysteries  of  debauch- 
ery and  crime,  and  ended  his  days  a  poor,  outcast 
wretch. 

Live  with  the  culpable  and  you  will  be  apt  to  die 
,vith  the  criminal.  Bad  company  is  like  a  nail  driven 
into  a  post,  which,  after  the  first  or  second  blow, 
may  be  drawn  out  with  little  difficulty,  but,  being 
driven  in  to  the  head,  it  can  only  be  withdrawn  by 
the  destruction  of  the  wood.  Be  you  ever  so  pure- 
minded  yourself  you  can  not  associate  with  bad  com- 
panions without  falling  into  bad  odor.  Evil  company 
is  like  tobacco  smoke — you  can  not  be  long  in  its 
presence  without  carrying  away  a  taint  of  it.  "Let 
no  man  deceive  himself,"  says  Petrarch,  "by  thinking 
that  the  contagions  of  the  soul  are  less  than  those 
of  the  body.  They  are  yet  greater ;  they  sink  deeper 
and  come  on  more  unsuspectedly."  From  impure  air 
we  take  diseases ;  from  bad  company,  vice  and  imper- 
fections. Avoid,  as  far  as  you  can,  the  company  of 
all  vicious  persons  whatsoever,  for  no  vice  is  alone, 
and  all  are  infectious. 

Good  company  not  only  improves  our  manners, 
but  also  our  minds,  and  intelligent  associates  will  be- 
come a  source  of  enjoyment  as  well  as  of  edification. 
Good  company  is  that  which  is  composed  of  intelli- 
gent and  well-bred  persons,  whose  language  is  chaste 
and  good,  whose  sentiments  are  pure  and  edifying, 
whose  deportment  is  such  as  pure  and  well-regulated 
education  and  correct  morals  dictate,  and  whose  con- 
duct is  directed  and  restrained  by  the  pure  precepts 


216  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  religion.  When  we  have  the  advantages  of  such 
company  it  should  then  be  the  object  of  our  zeal  to 
imitate  their  real  excellencies,  copy  their  politeness, 
their  carriage,  their  address,  and  the  easy,  well-bred 
turn  of  their  conversation ;  but  we  should  remember 
that,  let  them  shine  ever  so  bright,  their  vices  art 
so  many  blemishes  upon  their  character  which  we 
should  no  more  think  of  endeavoring  to  imitate  than 
we  should  to  make  artificial  warts  upon  our  faces 
because  some  distinguished  person  happened  to  have 
one  there  by  nature. 

Water  will  seek  its  level.  So  do  the  various 
elements  of  society.  Tell  us  whom  you  prefer  as 
companions  and  we  can  tell  who  you  are  like.  Do 
you  love  the  society  of  the  vulgar?  Then  you  are 
already  debased  in  your  sentiments.  Do  you  seek 
to  be  with  the  profane?  In  your  heart  you  are 
like  them.  Are  jesters  and  buffoons  your  choice 
companions?  He  who  loves  to  laugh  at  folly  is  him- 
self a  fool.  Do  you  love  and  seek  the  society  of 
the  wise  and  good  ?  Is  this  your  habit  ?  Had  you 
rather  take  the  lowest  seat  among  these  than  the 
highest  seat  with  others  ?  Then  you  have  already 
learned  to  be  good.  You  may  not  make  very  rapid 
progress,  but  even  a  good  beginning  is  not  to  be 
despised.  Hold  on  your  way,  and  seek  to  be  the 
companion  of  those  that  fear  God.  So  shall  you  be 
wise  for  yourself  and  wise  for  eternity. 


FRIENDS.  217 


There  are  a  thousand  nameless  ties, 

Which  only  such  as  feel  them  know, 
Of  kindred  thoughts,  deep  sympathies, 

And  untold  fancy  spells,  which  throw 
O'er  ardent  minds  and  faithful  hearts 

A  chain  whose  charmed  links  so  blend 
That  the  bright  circlet  but  imparts 

Its  force  in  these  fond  words  —  lMy  Friend  /'  " 


is  the  sweetest  and  most  satisfac- 
tory connection  in  life.  It  has  notable  effect 
upon  all  states  and  conditions.  It  relieves  our 
cares,  raises  our  hopes,  and  abates  our  fears. 
A  friend  who  relates  his  'successes  talks  himself  into 
a  new  pleasure,  and  by  opening  his  misfortunes  leaves 
a  part  of  them  behind  him.  Friendship  improves 
happiness  and  abates  misery,  by  doubling  our  joys 
and  dividing  our  griefs.  Charity  is  friendship  in  com- 
mon, and  friendship  is  charity  inclosed.  It  is  a  sweet 
attraction  of  the  heart  towards  the  merit  we  esteem 
or  the  perfection  we  admire,  and  produces  a  mutual 
inclination  between  two  or  more  persons  to  promote 
each  others'  interests,  knowledge,  virtue,  and  hap- 
piness. 

The  language  of  friendship  is  as  varied  as  the 
wants  and  weaknesses  of  humanity.  To  the  timid 
and  cautious  it  speaks  words  of  encouragement.  To 
the  weak  it  is  ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand.  To 
the  bold  and  venturesome  it  whispers  words  of  caution. 
It  is  ready  to  sympathize  with  the  sorrowing  one,  and 


218  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

to  rejoice  with  those  of  good  cheer.  Friendship  is 
not  confined  to  any  particular  class  of  society  or  any 
particular  geographical  locality.  No  surveyed  chart, 
no  natural  boundary  line,  no  rugged  mountain  or 
steep  declining  vale  puts  a  limit  to  its  growth. 
Wherever  it  is  watered  with  the  dews  of  kindness 
and  affection,  there  you  may  be  sure  to  find  it.  Allied 
in  closest  companionship  with  its  twin  sister,  Charity, 
it  enters  the  abode  of  sorrow  and  wretchedness,  and 
causes  happiness  and  peace.  Its  influence  dispels 
every  poisoned  thought  of  envy,  and  spreads  abroad 
in  the  mind  a  contentment  which  all  the  powers  of 
the  mind  could  not  otherwise  bestow.  True  friend- 
ship will  bloom  only  in  the  soil  of  a  noble  and  self- 
sacrificing  heart.  There  it  enjoys  perpetual  Summer, 
diffusing  a  sweet  atmosphere  of  love,  peace,  and  joy 
to  all  around. 

No  man  can  go  very  far  with  strength  and  cour- 
age, if  he  goes  alone  through  the  weary  struggles  of 
life.  We  are  made  to  be  happier  and  better  by  each 
other's  notice  and  appreciation,  and  the  hearts  that 
are  debarred  from  those  influences  invariably  contract 
and  harden.  Here  and  there  we  find  persons  who, 
from  pride  or  singularity  of  disposition,  affect  to  be 
altogether  independent  of  the  notice  or  regard  of 
their  fellow-beings  ;  but  never  yet  was  there  consti- 
tuted a  human  heart  that  did  not  at  some  time,  in 
some  tender  and  yearning  hour,  long  for  the  sym- 
pathy of  other  hearts.  Instead  of  striving  to  conceal 
this  feeling,  it  should  be  regarded  as  one  possessing 
true  nobility.  True  friendship  can  only  be  molded 


FRIENDS.  219 

by  the  experience  of  time.  The  attractive  face,  the 
winning  tongue,  or  the  strong  need  of  some  passer- 
by, is  not  the  permanent  test  of  the  union  of  hearts. 
We  want  a  more  substantial  proof  than  any  of  these. 
A  thousand  transitory  friends  meet  us  along  the 
crowded  thoroughfares  of  life  ;  but  when  we  come  to 
try  their  durability  in  the  sieve  of  experience,  alas, 
how  many  fall  through !  There  have  been  times  in 
the  life  of  every  man  when  he  has  been  willing  to 
stake  reputation,  credit,  all,  on  the  true  friendship 
of  some  companion  ;  but  he  turns  to  find  his  idol 
clay,  the  gold  but  dross.  Few  persons  are  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  secure  in  the  course  of  life  the  happiness 
and  advantages  of  one  efficient  and  devoted  friend. 
It  is  all  that  many  aim  at,  seek,  and  ask  to  have,  and 
is  worth  a  whole  caravan  of  those  lukewarm  and 
treacherous  souls  who,  indeed,  profess  to  be  attached 
to  us,  but  whose  affection  is  so  uncertain  and  un- 
stable that  we  fear  to  put  it  to  the  test  of  trial  lest 
we  lose  it  forever. 

Concerning  the  one  you  call  your  friend,  tell  us, 
will  he  weep  with  you  in  your  hours  of  distress  ? 
Will  he  faithfully  reprove  you  to  your  face  for  actions 
for  which  others  are  ridiculing  and  censuring  you  be- 
hind your  back  ?  Will  he  dare  to  stand  forth  in  your 
defense  when  detraction  is  secretly  aiming  its  weapon 
at  your  reputation  ?  Will  he  acknowledge  you  with 
the  same  cordiality  and  behave  to  you  with  the  same 
friendly  attention  in  the  company  of  your  superiors 
in  rank  and  fortune  as  when  the  claims  of  pride  do 
not  interfere  with  those  of  friendship  ?  If  misfortune 


220  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  loss  should  oblige  you  to  retire  into  a  walk  of 
life  in  which  you  can  not  appear  with  the  same  liber- 
ality as  formerly,  will  he  still  think  himself  happy  in 
your  society,  and  instead  of  withdrawing  himself  from 
an  unprofitable  connection,  take  pleasure  in  profess- 
ing himself  your  friend,  and  cheerfully  assist  you  to 
support  the  burden  of  your  afflictions  ?  When  sick- 
ness shall  call  you  to  retire  from  the  busy  world,  will 
he  follow  you  to  your  gloomy  retreat,  listen  with  at- 
tention to  your  tale  of  suffering,  and  administer  the 
balm  of  consolation  to  your  fainting  spirit?  And, 
lastly,  when  death  shall  burst  asunder  every  earthly 
tie,  will  he  shed  a  tear  upon  your  grave,  and  lodge 
the  dear  remembrance  of  your  mutual  friendship  in 
his  heart  ?  If  so,  then  grapple  him  to  your  heart 
with  hooks  of  steel ;  and  you  shall  know  the  privilege 
of  having  one  true  friend. 

Friendship  is  a  vase  which,  when  it  is  flawed  by 
violence  or  accident,  may  as  well  be  broken  at  once ; 
it  never  can  be  trusted  after.  The  more  graceful 
and  ornamental  it  was,  the  more  clearly  do  we  dis- 
cern the  hopelessness  of  restoring  it  to  its  former 
state.  Coarse  stones,  if  they  are  fractured,  may  be 
cemented  again  ;  precious  ones  never.  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  cover  the  blemishes  and  to  excuse  the  faults  of 
a  friend ;  to  draw  a  curtain  before  his  stains ;  to  bury 
his  weakness  in  silence,  but  to  proclaim  his  virtues 
upon  the  housetop.  Prosperity  is  no  just  scale ; 
adversity  is  the  only  true  balance  to  weigh  friends  in. 
True  friendship  must  withstand  the  shocks  of  ad- 
versity before  it  is  entitled  to  the  name,  since  friend- 


FRIENDS.  221 

ships  which  are  born  in  adversity  are  more  firm  and 
lasting  than  those  formed  in  happiness,  as  iron  is 
more  strongly  united  the  fiercer  the  flames.  One 
has  never  the  least  difficulty  in  finding  a  devoted 
friend  except  when  he  needs  one.  Real  friends  are 
wont  to  visit  us  in  prosperity  only  when  invited,  but 
in  adversity  they  come  of  their  own  accord.  A  friend 
is  not  known  in  prosperity,  but  can  not  be  hidden  in 
adversity.  If  we  lack  the  sagacity  to  discriminate 
wisely  between  our  acquaintances  and  our  friends, 
misfortune  will  readily  do  it  for  us.  Prosperity  gains 
friends,  and  adversity  tries  them.  False  friends  are 
like  our  shadows — keeping  close  to  us  while  we  walk 
in  the  sunshine,  but  leaving  us  the  instant  we  cross 
into  the  shade.  False  friendship,  like  the  ivy,  de- 
cays and  ruins  the  walls  it  embraces ;  but  true  friend- 
ship gives  new  life  and  animation  to  the  object  it 
supports. 

The  hardest  trials  of  those  who  fall  from  affluence 
to  poverty  and  obscurity  is  the  discovery  that  the 
attachment  of  so  many  in  whom  they  confided  was  a 
pretense,  a  mask  to  gain  their  own  ends,  or  was  a 
miserable  shallowness.  Sometimes,  doubtless,  it  is 
with  regret  that  these  frivolous  followers  of  the  world 
desert  those  upon  whom  they  have  fawned  ;  but  they 
soon  forget  them.  Flies  leave  the  kitchen  when  the 
dishes  are  empty.  The  parasites  that  cluster  about 
the  favorites  of  fortune  to  gather  his  gifts  and  climb 
by  his  aid,  linger  with  the  sunshine,  but  scatter  at  the 
approach  of  a  storm,  as  the  leaves  cling  to  a  tree  in 
Summer  weather,  but  drop  off  at  the  breath  of  Win- 


222  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ter.  Like  ravens  settled  down  for  a  banquet  and 
suddenly  scared  away  by  a  noise,  how  quickly  at  the 
first  sound  of  calamity  the  superficial  friends  are  up 
and  away.  Cling  to  your  friends  after  having  chosen 
them  with  proper  caution.  If  they  reprove  you, 
thank  them;  if  they  grieve  you,  forgive  them;  if 
circumstances  have  torn  them  from  you,  circumstances 
may  change  and  make  them  yours  again.  Be  very 
slow  to  give  up  an  old  and  tried  friend.  A  true  friend 
is  such  a  rare  thing  to  have  that  you  are  blessed 
beyond  the  majority  of  men  if  you  possess  but  one 
such.  The  first  law  of  friendship  is  sincerity,  and  he 
who  violates  this  law  will  soon  find  himself  destitute 
of  that  which  he  sought. 

The  death  of  a  friendship  is  always  a  tragical 
affair.  Sometimes  it  cools  from  day  to  day,  warm 
"com:dence  gradually  giving  place  to  cold  civility,  and 
these  in  turn  swiftly  becoming  icy  husks  of  neglect 
and  repugnance.  Sometimes  its  remembrances  touch 
us  with  a  pang,  or  we  stand  at  its  grave  sobbing, 
wounded  with  a  grief  whose  balsam  never  grew. 
The  hardest  draught  in  the  cup  of  life  is  wrung 
from  .betrayed  affection,  when  the  guiding  light  of 
friendship  is  quenched  in  deception,  and  the  gloom 
that  surrounds  our  path  grows  palpable.  Let  one 
find  cold  repulse  or  mocking  treachery  where  he  ex- 
pected the  greeting  of  friendship,  and  it  is  not  strange 
that  he  feels  crushed  with  the  discovery. 

Old  friends !  What  a  multitude  of  deep  and 
varied  emotions  are  called  up  from  the  soul  by  the 
utterance  of  these  two  words !  What  thronging 


POWER  OF  CtiSTOM.  *223 

memories  of  other  days  crowd  the  brain  when  they 
are  spoken!  Oh,  there  is  magic  in  their  sound,  and 
the  spell  it  evokes  is  both  sad  and  pleasing.  When 
reverie  brings  before  us  in  quick  succession  the 
scenes  of  by-gone  years,  how  do  the  features  of 
olden  friends,  dim  and  shadowy  as  the  grave  in 
which  many  of  them  are  laid,  flit  before  us  !  How 
they  carry  us  to  other  scenes  and  other  places ! 
The  thoughts  which  fill  the  mind  when  thus  musing 
on  the  past  are  always  of  a  chastened  kind.  In  the 
scenes  of  the  past  we  behold  a  type  of  the  future. 
The  fate  of  our  friends  shadows  forth  our  own,  and 
we  are  indeed  dull  if  we  fail  to  arise  from  fancied 
communication  with  old  friends  wiser  and  better  men 
and  women. 


jHERE  are  many  who  find  themselves  in  the 
toils  of  an  evil  custom  who  would  most  willingly 
give  money  and  time  to  be  free  from  its  con- 
trol. Montaigne  says,  ••  Custom  is  a  violent 
and  treacherous  school-mistress.  She,  by  little  and 
little,  slyly  and  unperceivedly  slips  in  the  foot  of  her 
authority  ;  but  having  by  this  gentle  and  humble  be- 
ginning, with  the  benefit  of  time,  fixed  and  estab- 
lished it,  she  then  unmasks  a  furious  and  tyrannic 
countenance,  against  which  we  have  no  more  the 
courage  or  the  power  to  lift  up  our  eyes."  Custom 
is  the  law  of  one  class  of  people  and  fashion  of  an- 


224  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

other ;  but  the  two  parties  often  clash,  for  precedence 
is  the  legislator  of  the  first  and  novelty  of  the  second. 
Custom,  therefore,  looks  to  things  that  are  past,  and 
fashion  to  things  that  are  present;  but  both  are 
somewhat  purblind  as  to  things  that  are  to  come. 
Of  the  two,  fashion  imposes  the  heaviest  burdens,  for 
she  cheats  her  votaries  of  their  time,  their  fortune, 
and  their  comforts,  and  she  repays  them  only  with 
the  celebrity  of  being  ridiculed  and  despised — a  very 
paradoxical  mode  of  payment,  yet  always  most  thank- 
fully received. 

It  is  surprising  to  what  an  extent  our  likes 
and  dislikes  are  creatures  of  custom.  Our  modes 
of  belief,  thoughts,  and  opinions  are  molded  and 
shaped  by  what  has  been  the  prevailing  mode  of 
thinking  heretofore.  Though  we  are,  indeed,  not 
so  given  to  the  worship  of  past  institutions  as  some 
people,  yet  we  all  acknowledge  the  prevailing  power 
of  custom,  of  personal  habits,  and  of  fashions.  We 
dare  not  stand  alone  in  any  matter  of  concern,  but 
wish  to  be  in  company  of  those  similarly  minded. 
The  law  of  opinion  goes  forth.  We  do  not  ask  who 
promulgates  it,  but  fall  into  the  ranks  of  its  followers 
and  worshipers.  We  are  whirled  in  the  giddy  ranks 
and '  blinded  by  the  dazzling  lights.  Novelty  is  the 
show,  conformity  is  the  law — and  life  a  trance,  until 
at  last  we  awake  from  it  to  find  that  we  have  been 
the  victims  of  a  fatal  folly  and  a  bewildering  dream. 

Habit  is  man's  best  friend  or  worst  enemy.  It 
can  exalt  him  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  virtue,  honor, 
or  happiness,  or  sink  him  to  the  lowest  depths  of 


POWER  OF  CUSTOM.  225 

vice,  shame,  and  misery.  If  we  look  back  upon  the 
usual  course  of  our  feelings  we  shall  find  that  we 
are  more  influenced  by  the  frequent  recurrence  of 
objects  than  by  their  weight  and  importance,  and 
that  habit  has  more  force  in  forming  our  character 
than  our  opinions.  The  mind  naturally  takes  its  tone 
and  complexion  from  what  it  habitually  contemplates. 
"Whatever  may  be  the  cause,"  says  Lord  Kames, 
"it  is  an  established  fact  that  we  are  much  influenced 
by  custom.  It  hath  an  effect  upon  our  pleasures, 
upon  our  actions,  and  even  upon  our  thoughts  and 
sentiments."  Habit  makes  no  figure  during  the  vivac- 
ity of  youth,  in  middle  age  it  gains  ground,  and  in 
old  age  governs  without  control.  In  that  period  of 
life,  generally  speaking,  we  eat  at  a  certain  hour, 
take  exercise  at  a  certain  time,  all  by  the  direction 
of  habit ;  nay,  a  particular  seat,  table,  and  bed  comes 
to  be  essential,  and  a  habit  in  any  of  these  can  not 
be  contradicted  without  uneasiness.  Man,  it  has 
been  said,  is  a  bundle  of  habits,  and  habit  is  a  second 
nature.  Metastasio  entertained  so  strong  an  opinion 
as  to  the  power  of  repetition  in  act  and  thought  that 
he  said,  "All  is  habit  in  mankind,  even  virtue  itself." 
Beginning  with  single  acts  habit  is  formed  slowly 
at  first,  and  it  is  not  till  its  spider's  thread  is  woven 
in  a  thick  cable  that  its  existence  is  suspected.  Then 
it  is  found  that  beginning  in  cobwebs  it  ends  in 
chains.  Gulliver  was  bound  as  fast  by  the  Lillipu- 
tians with  multiplied  threads  as  if  they  had  used 
ropes.  "Like  flakes  of  snow  that  fall  unperceivedly 
upon  the  earth,"  says  Jeremy  Bentham,  "the  seem- 


226  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ingly  unimportant  events  of  life  succeed  one  another. 
As  the  snow  gathers  so  are  our  habits  formed ;  no 
single  flake  that  is  added  to  the  pile  produces  a 
sensible  change;  no  single  action  creates,  however 
it  may  exhibit,  a  man's  character.  But  as  the  tem- 
pest hurls  the  avalanche  down  the  mountain  and 
overwhelms  the  inhabitant  and  his  habitation,  so 
passion,  acting  upon  the  elements  of  mischief  which 
pernicious  habits  have  brought  together  by  imper- 
ceptible accumulation,  may  overthrow  the  edifice  of 
truth  and  virtue. 

The  force  of  habit  renders  pleasant  many  things 
which  at  first  were  intensely  disagreeable  or  even 
painful.  Walking  upon  the  quarter-deck  of  a  vessel, 
though  felt  at  first  to  be  intolerably  confined,  be- 
comes, by  repetition,  so  agreeable  to  the  sailor  that, 
in  his  walks  on  shore,  he  often  hems  himself  within 
the  same  bounds.  Arctic  explorers  become  so  ac- 
customed to  the  hardships  incident  to  such  a  life 
that  they  do  not  enjoy  the  comforts  of  home  when 
they  return.  So  powerful  is  the  effect  of  constant 
repetition  of  action  that  men  whose  habits  are  fixed 
may  almost  be  said  to  have  lost  their  free  agency. 
Their  actions  become  of  the  nature  of  fate,  and  they 
are  so  bound  by  the  chains  which  they  have  woven 
for  themselves  that  they  do  that  which  they  have 
been  accustomed  to  do  even  when  they  know  it  can 
yield  neither  pleasure  nor  profit. 

Those  who  are  in  the  power  of  an  evil  habit  must 
conquer  it  as  they  can,  and  conquered  it  must  be,  or 
neither  wisdom  nor  happiness  can  be  obtained ;  but  ^ 


POWER  OF  CUSTOM.  227 

those  who  are  not  yet  subject  to  their  influence  may, 
by  timely  caution,  preserve  their  freedom.  They 
may  effectually  resolve  to  escape  the  tyrant  whom 
they  will  vainly  resolve  to  conquer.  Be  not  slow  in 
the  breaking  of  a  sinful  custom;  a  quick,  courageous 
resolution  is  better  than  a  gradual  deliberation ;  in 
such  a  combat  he  is  the  bravest  soldier  who  lays 
about  him  without  fear  or  wit.  Wit  pleads;  fear 
disheartens.  He  who  would  kill  hydra  had  better 
strike  off  one  neck  than  five  heads, — fell  the  tree 
and  the  branches  are  soon  cut  off.  Vicious  habits 
are  so  great  a  strain  on  human  nature,  said  Cicero, 
and  so  odious  in  themselves  that  every  person  actu- 
ated by  right  reason  would  avoid  them,  though  he 
were  sure  they  would  always  be  concealed  both  from 
God  and  man  and  had  no  future  punishment  entailed 
on  them.  Vicious  habits,  when  opposed,  offer  the 
most  vigorous  resistance  on  the  first  attack ;  at  each 
successive  encounter  this  resistance  grows  weaker, 
until,  finally,  it  ceases  altogether,  and  the  victory  is 
achieved. 

Such  being  the  power  of  habit  all  can  plainly  see 
the  importance  of  forming  habits  of  such  a  nature 
that  they  shall  constantly  tend  to  increase  our  hap- 
piness, and  to  render  more  sure  and  certain  that 
success  the  attaining  of  which  is  the  object  of  all 
our  endeavors.  We  may  form  habits  of  honesty  or 
knavery,  frugality  or  extravagance,  of  patience  or 
impatience,  self-denial  or  self-indulgence.  In  short, 
there  is  not  a  virtue  nor  a  vice,  not  an  act  of  body 
nor  of  mind,  to  which  we  may  not  be  chained  by 


228          .  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

this  despotic  power.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  even 
happiness  may  become  habitual.  One  may  acquire 
the  habit  of  looking  upon  the  sunny  side  of  things, 
or  of  looking  upon  the  gloomy  side.  He  may  ac- 
custom himself,  by  a  happy  alchemy,  to  transmute 
the  darkest  events  into  materials  for  hopes.  Hume, 
the  historian,  said  that  the  habit  of  looking  at  the 
bright  side  of  things  was  better  than  an  income  of  a 
thousand  pounds  a  year. 

Habits  which  are  to  be  commended  are  not  to  be 
formed  in  a  day,  nor  by  a  few  faint  resolutions,  not 
by  accident,  not  by  fits  and  starts — being  one  mo- 
ment in  a  paroxysm  of  attention  and  the  next  falling 
into  the  sleep  of  indifference — are  they  to  be  ob- 
tained, but  by  steady,  persistent  efforts.  Above  all, 
it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be  acquired  in  youth, 
for  then  do  they  cost  the  least  effort.  Like  letters 
cut  in  the  bark  of  a  tree,  they  grow  and  widen  with 
age.  Once  obtained  they  are  a  fortune  of  them- 
selves, for  their  possessor  has  disposed  thereby  of 
the  heavier  end  of  the  load  of  life;  all  the  remaining 
he  can  carry  easily  and  pleasantly.  On  the  other 
hand,  bad  habits,  once  formed,  will  hang  forever  on 
the  wheels  of  enterprise,  and  in  the  end  will  assert 
their  supremacy,  to  the  ruin  and  shame  of  their 
victim. 


PERSONAL  INFLUENCE.  229 


"  I  shot  an  arrow  in  the  air; 
It  fell  on  earth,  I  knew  not  where. 

I  breathed  a  song  into  the  air ; 
It  fell  on  earth,  I  knew  not  where. 

Long,  long  afterwards,  in  an  oak, 
I  found  the  arrow  still  unbroke, 
And  the  song,  from  beginning  to  end, 
I  found  again  in  the  heart  of  a  friend." 

—II.  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

'NFLUENCE  is  to  a  man  what  flavor  is  to  fruit, 
or  fragrance  to  the  flower.  It  does  not  develop 
strength  or  determine  character,  but  it  is  the 
measure  of  his  interior  richness  and  worth,  and 
as  the  blossom  can  not  tell  what  becomes  of  the 
odor  which  is  wafted  away  from  it  by  every  wind,  so 
no  man  knows  the  limit  of  that  influence  which  con- 
stantly and  imperceptibly  escapes  from  his  daily  life, 
and  goes  out  far  beyond  his  conscious  knowledge  or 
remotest  thought.  Influence  is  a  power  we  exert 
over  others  by  our  thoughts,  words,  and  actions  ;  by 
our  lives,  in  short.  It  is  a  silent,  a  pervading,  a 
magnetic,  a  most  wonderful  thing.  It  works  in  inex- 
plicable ways.  We  neither  see  nor  hear  it,  yet,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  we  exert  it. 

Your  influence  is  not  confined  to  yourself  or  to 
the  scene  of  your  immediate  actions  ;  it  extends  to 
others,  and  will  reach  to  succeeding  ages.  Future 
generations  will  feel  the  influence  of  your  conduct. 


230  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

We  all  of  us  at  times  lose  sight  of  this  principle,  and 
apparently  act  on  the  assumption  that  what  we  do  or 
think  or  say  can  affect  no  one  but  ourselves.  But  we 
are  so  connected  with  the  immortal  beings  around  us, 
and  with  those  who  are  to  come  after  us,  that  we  can 
not  avoid  exerting  a  most  important  influence  over 
their  character  and  final  condition  ;  and  thus,  long 
after  we  shall  be  no  more — nay,  after  the  world  itself 
shall  be  no  more — the  consequences  of  our  conduct 
to  thousands  of  our  fellow-men  will  be  nothing  less 
than  everlasting  destruction  or  eternal  life.  What 
we  do  is  transacted  on  a  stage  of  which  all  in  the 
universe  are  spectators.  What  we  say  is  transmitted 
in  echoes  that  will  never  cease.  What  we  are  is  in- 
fluencing and  acting  on  the  rest  of  mankind.  Neutral 
we  can  not  be.  Living  we  act,  and  dead  we  speak; 
and  the  whole  universe  is  the  mighty  company,  for- 
ever looking  and  listening ;  and  all  nature  the  tablets, 
forever  recording  the  words,  the  deeds,  the  thoughts, 
the  passions  of  mankind. 

It  is  a  high,  solemn,  almost  awful  thought  for  every 
individual  man,  that  his  earthly  influence,  which  has 
a  commencement,  will  never  through  all  ages  have 
an  end!  What  is  done,  is  done — has  already  blended 
itself  with  the  boundless,  ever-living,  ever-working 
universe,  and  will  work  there  for  good  or  evil,  openly 
or  secretly,  throughout  all  time.  The  life  of  every 
man  is  as  the  well-spring  of  a  stream,  whose  small 
beginnings  are,  indeed,  plain  to  all,  but  whose  course 
and  destination,  as  it  winds  through  the  expanse  of 
infinite  years,  only  the  Omniscient  can  discern.  God 


PERSONAL  INFLUENCE.  231 

lias  written  upon  the  flower  that  sweetens  the  air, 
upon  the  breeze  that  rocks  the  flower  upon  its  stem, 
upon  the  rain-drop  that  swells  the  mighty  river,  upon 
the  dew-drops  that  refresh  the  smallest  sprig  of  moss 
that  rears  its  head  in  the  desert,  upon  the  ocean  that 
rocks  every  swimmer  in  its  channel,  upon  every  pen- 
ciled shell  that  sleeps  in  the  caverns  of  the  deep,  as 
well  as  upon  the  mighty  sun  which  warms  and  cheers 
the  millions  of  creatures  that  live  in  its  light, — upon 
all  he  has  written,  "  None  of  us  liveth  to  himself." 

The  babe  that  perished  on  the  bosom  of  its 
mother,  like  a  flower  that  bowed  its  head  and 
drooped  amid  the  death-frosts  of  time, — that  babe, 
not  only  in  its  image,  but  in  its  influence,  still  lives 
and  speaks  in  the  chambers  of  the  mother's  heart. 
The  friend  with  whom  we  took  sweet  counsel  is  re- 
moved visibly  from  the  outward  eye  ;  but  the  lessons 
that  he  taught,  the  grand  sentiments  that  he  uttered, 
the  deeds  of  generosity  by  which  he  was  character- 
ized, the  moral  lineaments  and  likeness  of  the  man, 
still  survive,  and  appear  in  the  silence  of  eventide, 
and  on  the  tablets  of  memory,  and  in  the  light  of 
noon  and  dewy  eve  ;  and,  though  dead,  he  yet  speak- 
cth  eloquently  and  in  the  midst  of  us.  Every  thing 
leaves  a  history  and  an  influence.  The  pebble,  as 
well  as  the  planet,  goes  attended  by  its  shadow.  The 
rolling  rock  leaves  its  scratches  on  the  mountains, 
the  river  its  channel  in  the  soil,  the  animal  its  bones 
in  the  stratum,  the  fern  and  leaf  their  modest  epitaph 
in  the  coal.  The  falling  drop  marks  its  sculpture  in 
the  sand  or  the  stone.  Not  a  foot  steps  into  the 


232  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

snow  or  along  the  ground  but  prints,  in  characters 
more  or  less  lasting,  a  map  of  its  march.  Every  act 
of  man  inscribes  itself  in  the  memories  of  its  fellows, 
and  in  his  own  manners  and  face.  The  air  is  full  of 
sounds,  the  sky  of  tokens  ;  the  ground  is  all  mem 
oranda  and  signatures,  and  every  object  coverea 
over  with  hints  which  speak  to  the  intelligent. 

The  sun  sets  beyond  the  western  hills,  but  the 
trail  of  light  he  leaves  behind  him  guides  the  pil- 
grim to  his  distant  home.  The  tree  falls  in  the  for- 
est ;  but  in  the  lapse  of  ages  it  is  turned  into  coal, 
and  our  fires  burn  now  the  brighter  because  it  grew 
and  fell.  The  coral  insect  dies ;  but  the  reef  it 
raised  breaks  the  surge  on  the  shores  of  great  con- 
tinents, or  has  formed  an  isle  on  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean,  to  wave  with  harvests  for  the  good  of  man. 
We  live  and  we  die,  but  the  good  or  evil  that  we 
do  lives  after  us,  and  is  not  "  buried  with  our  bones." 

The  career  of  great  men  remains  an  enduring 
monument  of  human  energy.  The  man  dies  and 
disappears  ;  but  the  thoughts  and  acts  survive  and 
leave  an  indelible  stamp  on  his  race.  And  thus  the 
spirit  of  his  life  is  prolonged,  and  thus  perpetuated, 
molding  the  thought  and  will,  and  thereby  contrib- 
uting to  form  the  character  of  the  future.  It  is  the 
men  who  advance  in  the  highest  and  best  directions 
who  are  the  true  beacons  of  human  progress.  They 
are  as  lights  set  upon  a  hill,  illuminating  the  moral 
atmosphere  around  them ;  and  the  light  of  their 
spirit  continues  to  shine  upon  all  succeeding  gen 
erations.  The  golden  words  that  good  men  have 


PERSONAL  INFLUENCE.  233 

uttered,  the  .examples  they  have  set,  live  through  all 
time;  they  pass  into  the  thoughts  and  hearts  of  their 
successors,  help  them  on  the  road  of  life,  and  often 
console  them  in  the  hour  of  death.  They  live  a  uni- 
versal life,  speak  to  us  from  their  graves,  and  beckon 
us  on  in  the  paths  which  they  trod.  Their  example 
is  still  with  us,  to  guide,  to  influence,  and  to  direct 
us.  Nobility  of  character  is  a  perpetual  bequest,  liv- 
ing from  age  to  age,  and  constantly  tending  to  repro- 
duce its  like. 

It  is  what  man  was  that  lives  and  acts  after  him. 
What  he  said  sounds  along  the  years  like  voices 
amid  the  mountain  gorges,  and  what  he  did  is  re- 
peated after  him  in  ever  multiplying  and  never  ceas- 
ing reverberations.  Every  man  has  left  behind  him 
influences  for  good  or  evil  that  will  never  exhaust 
themselves.  The  sphere  in  which  he  acts  may  be 
small  or  it  may  be  great,  it  may  be  his  fireside  or  it 
may  be  a  kingdom,  a  village  or  a  great  nation,  it 
may  be  a  parish  or  broad  Europe — but  act  he  does, 
ceaselessly  and  forever.  His  friends,  his  family,  his 
successors  in  office,  his  relatives  are  all  receptive  of 
an  influence,  a  moral  influence,  which  he  has  trans- 
mitted to  mankind  —  either  a  blessing  which  will 
repeat  itself  in  showers  of  benediction,  or  a  curse 
which  will  multiply  itself  in  ever-accumulating  evil. 

We  see  not  in  life  the  end  of  human  actions. 
Their  influence  never  dies.  In  ever-widening  circles 
it  reaches  beyond  the  grave.  Death  removes  us 
from  this  to  an  eternal  world.  Every  morning  when 
we  go  forth  we  lay  the  molding  hand  on  our  destiny, 


234  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  every  evening  when  we  have  done*  we  have  left 
a  deathless  impress  on  eternity.  "  We  touch  not  a 
wire  but  that  it  vibrates  to  God." 

Since  we  all  have  a  personal  influence,  and  our 
words  and  actions  leave  a  well-nigh  indelible  trace, 
it  is  our  duty  to  make  that  influence  as  potential  for 
good  as  possible.  In  order  to  do  this  you  must 
show  yourself  a  man  among  men.  It  is  through  the 
invisible  lines  which  you  are  able  to  attach  to  the 
minds  with  which  you  are  brought  into  association 
that  you  can  influence  society  in  the  direction  of  the 
greatest  good.  You  can  not  move  men  until  you  are 
one  of  them.  They  will  not  follow  you  until  they 
have  heard  your  voice,  shaken  your  hand,  and  fully 
learned  your  principles  and  your  sympathies.  It 
makes  no  difference  how  much  you  know,  nor  how 
much  you  are  capable  of  doing.  You  may  pile  ac- 
complishments upon  acquisitions  mountain  high ;  but 
if  you  fail  to  be  a  social  man,  demonstrating  to  so- 
ciety that  your  lot  is  with  the  rest,  a  little  child  with 
a  song  in  its  mouth  and  a  kiss  for  all  and  a  pair  of 
innocent  hands  to  lay  upon  the  knees  shall  lead  more 
hearts  and  change  the  directions  of  more  lives 
than  you. 

A  just  appreciation  of  the  power  of  personal  in- 
fluence leads  to  a  sense  of  duty  resting  upon  all  to 
see  to  it  that  their  influence  is  exerted  in  inculcating 
a  proper  sense  of  right  in  the  community  in  which 
they  live ;  to  be  sure  that  their  weight  is  constantly 
cast  in  the  scale  of  right  against  wrong  ;  that  they  be 
found  furthering  all  matters  of  enlightened  public 


PERSONAL  INFLUENCE.  235 

concern.  They  should  as  far  as  possible  walk  through 
life  as  a  band  of  music  moves  down  the  street,  fling- 
ing out  pleasures  on  every  side  through  the  air  to  all, 
far  and  near,  that  can  listen.  Some  men  fill  the  air 
with  their  presence  and  sweetness,  as  orchards  in 
October  days  fill  the  air  with  the  perfume  of  ripe 
fruits.  Some  women  cling  to  their  own  homes  like 
the  honeysuckle  over  the  door,  yet,  like  it,  sweeten 
all  the  region  with  the  subtle  fragrance  of  their  good- 
ness. Such  men  and  women  are  trees  of  righteous- 
ness, which  are  ever  dropping  precious  fruits  around 
them.  Their  lives  shine  like  starbeams,  or  charm  the 
heart  like  songs  sung  upon  a  holy  day. 

How  great  a  beauty  and  blessing  it  is  to  hold  the 
royal  gifts  of  the  soul,  so  that  they  shall  be  music  to 
some  and  fragrance  to  others,  and  life  to  all!  It 
would  be  a  most  worthy  object  of  life  to  make  the 
power  which  we  have  within  us  the  breath  of  other 
men's  joys  ;  to  scatter  sunshine  where  only  clouds 
and  shadows  reign ;  to  fill  the  atmosphere  where 
earth's  weary  toilers  must  stand  with  a  brightness 
which  they  can  not  create  for  themselves,  but  long 
for,  enjoy,  and  appreciate.  There  is  an  energy  of 
moral  suasion  in  a  good  man's  life  passing  the  highest 
efforts  of  the  orator's  genius.  The  seen  but  silent 
beauty  of  holiness  speaks  more  eloquently  of  God 
and  duty  than  the  tongues  of  men  and  angels.  Let 
parents  remember  this.  The  best  inheritance  a  par- 
ent can  bequeathe  to  a  child  is  a  virtuous  example, 
a  legacy  of  hallowed  remembrance  and  associations. 
The  beauty  of  holiness  beaming  through  the  life 


236  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  a  loved  relative  or  friend  is  rrore  effectual  to 
strengthen  such  as  do  stand  in  virtue's  ways,  and 
raise  up  those  that  are  bowed  down,  than  precept  or 
command,  entreaty  or  warning. 

Shall  our  influence  be  for  good  or  for  evil  ?  For 
good  ?  Then  let  no  act  of  ours  be  such  as  could  lead 
a  fellow  mortal  astray.  It  is  a  terrible  thought  that 
some  careless  word,  uttered  it  may  be  in  jest,  may 
start  some  soul  upon  the  downward  road.  Oh,  it  is 
terrible  power  that  we  have — the  power  of  influence — 
and  it  clings  to  us.  We  can  not  shake  it  off.  It  is 
born  with  us,  and  it  has  grown  with  our  growth  and 
strengthened  with  our  strength.  It  speaks,  it  walks, 
it  moves  ;  it  is  powerful  in  every  look  of  our  eye,  in 
every  word  of  our  mouth,  in  every  act  of  our  lives. 
We  can  not  live  to  ourselves.  We  must  be  either  a 
light  to  illumine  or  a  tempest  to  destroy.  We 
must  bear  constantly  in  mind  that  there  is  one  record 
we  can  not  interline — our  lives  written  on  others' 
hearts.  How  gladly  we  would  review  and  write  a 
kind  word  there,  a  generous  act  here,  erase  a  frown 
and  put  in  a  loving  word,  a  bright  smile,  and  a 
tender  expression.  Harshness  would  be  erased,  and 
gentleness  written.  But,  alas !  what  is  written  is 
written.  Clotho  will  not  begin  anew  to  spin  the 
threads  of  life,  and  our  actions  go  forth  into  the 
world  freighted  with  their  burden  of  good  or  evil 
influence. 


CHARACTER.  237 


CHARACTER  is  one  of  the  greatest  motive 
powers  in  the  world.  In  its  noblest  embodi- 
ments it  exemplifies  human  nature  in  its  high- 
est forms,  for  it  exhibits  man  at  his  best.  It  is 
the  corner-stone  of  individual  greatness — the  Doric 
and  splendid  column  of  the  majestic  structure  of  a 
true  and  dignified  man,  who  is  at  once  a  subject  arid 
a  king.  Character  is  to  a  man  what  the  fly-wheel 
is  to  the  engine.  By  the  force  of  its  momentum  it 
carries  him  through  times  of  temptation  and  trial; 
it  steadies  him  in  times  of  popular  excitement  and 
tumult,  and  exerts  a  guiding  and  controlling  influ- 
ence over  his  life. 

There  are  trying  and  perilous  circumstances  in 
life  which  show  how  valuable  and  important  a  good 
character  is.  It  is  a  strong  and  sure  staff  of  support 
when  every  thing  else  fails.  In  the  crisis  of  tempta- 
tion, in  the  battle  of  life,  when  the  struggle  comes 
either  from  within  or  without,  it  is  our  strength, 
heroism,  virtue,  and  consistency — our  character,  in 
short — which  defends  and  secures  our  happiness  and 
honor.  And  if  they  fail  us  in  the  hour  of  need— in 
the  season  of  danger — all  may  be  irretrievably  lost, 
and  nothing  left  us  except  vain  regrets  and  peniten- 
tial tears. 

Character  is  power,  character  is  influence,  and 
he  who  has  character,  though  he  may  have  nothing 
else,  has  the  means  of  being  eminently  useful,  not 


238  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

only  to  his  immediate  friends,  but  to  society,  to  the 
Church  of  God,  and  to  the  world.  When  a  person 
has  lost  his  character  all  is  lost — all  peace  of  mind, 
all  complacency  in  himself,  are  fled  forever.  He 
despises  himself;  he  is  despised  by  his  fellow-men. 
Within  is  shame  and  remorse  ;  without,  neglect  and 
reproach.  Hfe  is  of  necessity  a  miserable  and  use- 
less man,  and  he  is  so  even  though  he  be  clad  in 
purple  and  fine  linen,  and  fare  sumptuously  every 
day.  It  is  better  to  be  poor ;  it  is  better  to  be 
reduced  to  beggary;  it  is  better  to  be  cast  into 
prison,  or  condemned  to  perpetual  slavery  than  to 
be  destitute  of  a  good  name,  or  endure  the  pains 
and  evils  of  a  conscious  worthlessness  of  character. 
The  value  of  character  is  the  standard  of  human 
progress.  The  individual,  the  community,  the  na- 
tion, tell  of  their  standing,  their  advancement,  their 
worth,  their  true  wealth  and  glory,  in  the  eye  of 
God,  by  their  estimation  of  character.  That  man 
or  nation  that  lightly  esteems  character  is  low,  grov- 
eling, and  barbarous. 

Wherever  character  is  made  a  secondary  object 
sensualism  and  crime  prevail.  He  who  would  pros- 
titute character  to  reputation  is  base.  He  who  lives 
for  any  thing  less  than  character  is  mean.  He 
who  enters  upon  any  study,  pursuit,  amusement, 
pleasure,  habit,  or  course  of  life,  without  considering 
its  effect  upon  his  character  is  not  a  trusty  or  an 
honest  man.  He  whose  modes  of  thought,  states 
pf  feeling,  every-day  acts,  common  language,  and 
whole  outward  life,  are  not  directed  by  a  wise  refer- 


CHARACTER.  239 

ence  to  their  influence  upon  his  character  is  a  man 
always  to  be  watched.  Just  as  a  man  prizes  his 
character  so  is  he. 

There  is  a  difference  between  character  and  rep- 
utation. Character  is  what  a  man  is ;  reputation 
:s  what  he  is  thought  to  be.  Character  is  within ; 
reputation  is  without.  Character  is  Always  real ; 
reputation  may  be  false.  Character  is  substantial 
and  enduring;  reputation  may  be  vapory  and  fleet- 
ing. Character  is  at  home ;  reputation  is  abroad. 
Character  is  in  a  man's  own  soul ;  reputation  is  in 
the  minds  of  others.  Character  is  the  solid  food  of 
life ;  reputation  is  the  dessert.  Character  is  what 
gives  a  man  value  in  his  own  eyes ;  'reputation  is 
what  he  is  valued  at  in  the  eyes  of  others.  Char- 
acter is  his  real  worth ;  reputation  is  his  market 
price.  A  man  may  have  a  good  character  and  a 
bad  reputation;  or,  a  man  may  have  a  good  reputa- 
tion and  a  bad  character,  as  we  form  our  opinion  of 
men  from  what  they  appear  to  be,  and  not  from 
what  they  really  are.  Most  men  are  more  anxious 
about  their  reputation  than  they  are  about  their 
character.  This  is  not  right.  While  every  man 
should  endeavor  to  maintain  a  good  reputation,  he 
should  especially  labor  to  possess  a  good  character. 
Our  true  happiness  depends  not  so  much  on  what  is 
thought  of  us  by  others  as  on  what  we  really  are 
in  ourselves.  Men  of  good  character  are  generally 
men  of  good  reputation,  but  this  is  not  always  the 
case,  as  the  motives  and  actions  of  the  best  of  men 
are  sometimes  misunderstood  and  misrepresented. 


240  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

But  it  is  important,  above  every  thing,  else  that  we 
be  right  and  do  right,  whether  our  motives  and 
actions  are  properly  understood  and  appreciated  or 
not.  Nothing  can  be  so  important  to  any  man  as 
the  formation  and  possession  of  a  good  character. 
Character  is  of  slow  but  steady  growth,  and  the 
smallest  child  and  the  humblest  and  weakest  individ- 
ual may  attain  heights  that  now  seem  inaccessible 
by  the  constant  and  patient  exercise  of  just  as  much 
moral  power  as,  from  time  to  time,  they  possess. 
The  faithful  discharge  of  daily  duty,  the  simple  in- 
tegrity of  purpose  and  power  of  life  that  all  can 
attain  with  effort,  contribute  silently  but  surely  to 
the  building  tip  of  a  moral  character  that  knows  no 
limit  to  its  power,  no  bounds  to  its  heroism.  The 
influences  which  operate  in  the  formation  of  charac- 
ter are  numerous,  and  however  trivial  some  of  them 
may  appear  they  are  not  to  be  despised.  The  most 
powerful  forces  in  nature  are  those  that  operate  si- 
lently and  imperceptibly.  This  is  equally  true  of 
those  moral  forces  which  exert  the  greatest  influence 
on  our  minds  and  give  complexion  to  our  character. 
Among  the  most  powerful  are  early  impressions, 
examples,  and  habits.  Early  impressions,  although 
they  may  appear  to  be  but  slight,  are  the  most  en- 
during, and  exert  a  great  influence  on  life.  The 
tiniest  bit  of  public  opinion  sown  in  the  minds  of 
children  in  private  life  afterwards  issue  forth  to  the 
world  and  become  its  public  opinions,  for  nations 
are  gathered  out  of  nurseries.  By  repetition  of  acts 
the  character  becomes  slowly  but  decidedly  formed. 


CHARACTER.  241 

The  several  acts  may  seem  in  themselves  trivial,  but 
so  are  the  continuous  acts  of  daily  life. 

Our  minds  are  given  us,  but  our  characters  we 
make.  The  full  measure  of  all  the  powers-  necessary 
to  make  a  man  are  no  more  a  character  than  a  handful 
of  seeds  is  an  orchard  of  fruits.  Plant  the  seeds,  and 
tend  them  well,  and  they  will  make  an  orchard.  Cul- 
tivate the  powers,  and  harmonize  them  well,  and  they 
will  make  a  noble  character.  The  germ  is  not  the 
tree,  the  acorn  is  not  the  oak  ;  neither  is  the  mind  a 
character.  God  gives  the  mind ;  man  makes  the 
character.  Mind  is  the  garden  ;  character  is  the  fruit. 
Mind  is  the  white  page  ;  character  is  the  writing  we 
put  on  it.  Mind  is  the  metallic  plate  ;  character  is  our 
engraving  thereon.  Mind  is  the  shop,  the  counting- 
room  ;  character  is  our  profits  on  the  trade.  Large 
profits  are  made  from  quick  sales  and  small  percent- 
age ;  so  great  characters  are  made  by  many  little  acts 
and  efforts.  A  dollar  is  composed  of  a  thousand  mills  ; 
so  is  a  character  of  a  thousand  thoughts  and  acts. 
The  secret  thought  never  expressed,  the  inward  in- 
dulgence in  imaginary  wrong,  the  lie  never  told  for 
want  of  courage,  the  licentiousness  never  indulged  in 
for  fear  of  public  rebuke,  the  irreverence  of  the 
heart,  are  just  as  effectual  in  staining  the  heart  as 
though  the  world  knew  all  about  them. 

A  subtle  thing  is  character,  and  a  constant  work 
is  its  formation.  Whether  it  be  good  or  bad,  it  has 
been  long  in  its  growth  and  is  the  aggregate  of  mill- 
ions of  little  mental  acts.  A  good  character  is  a 

precious  thing,  above  rubies,  gold,  crowns,  or  king. 
16 


242  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

doms,  and  the  work  of  making  it  is  the  noblest  labo* 
on.  earth.  A  good  character  is  in  all  cases  the  fruit 
of  personal  exertion.  It  is  not  an  inheritance  from 
parents  ;  it  is  not  created  by  external  advantages  ;  it 
is  no  necessary  appendage  of  birth,  wealth,  talents, 
or  station ;  but  it  is  the  result  of  one's  own  endeavors 
All  the  variety  of  minute  circumstances  which  go  to 
form  character  are  more  or  less  under  the  control  of 
the  individual.  Not  a  day  passes  without  its  disci- 
pline, whether  for  good  or  for  evil.  There  is  no  act, 
however  trivial,  but  has  its  train  of  consequences,  as 
there  is  no  hair,  however  small,  but  casts  its  shadow, 

Not  only  is  character  of  importance  to  its  pos- 
sessor as  the  means  of  conferring  upon  him  true  dig- 
nity and  worth,  but  it  exerts  an  influence  upon  the 
lives  of  all  within  its  pale,  the  importance  of  which 
can  never  be  overestimated.  It  might  better  be 
called  an  effluence  ;  for  it  is  constantly  radiating  from 
a  man,  and  then  most  of  all  when  he  is  least  con- 
scious of  its  emanation.  We  are  molding  others 
wherever  we  are.  Books  are  only  useful  when  they 
are  read ;  sermons  are  only  influential  when  they  are 
listened  to ;  but  character,  keeps  itself  at  all  times 
before  men's  attention,  and  its  weight  is  felt  by  every 
one  who  comes  within  its  sphere. 

Other  agencies  are  intermittent,  like  the  revolving 
light,  which,  after  a  time  of  brightness,  goes  out  into 
a  period  of  darkness  ;  but  character  is  continuous  in 
its  operations,  and  shines  with  the  steady  radiance 
of  a  star.  A  good  character  is  therefore  to  be  care 
fully  maintained  for  the  sake  of  others,  if  possible, 


CHARACTER.  243 

more  than  ourselves.  It  is  a  coat  of  triple  steel, 
giving  security  to  the  wearer,  protection  to  the  op- 
pressed, and  inspiring  the  oppressor  with  awe. 
Every  man  is  bound  to  aim  at  the  possession  of  a 
good  character  as  one  of  the  highest  objects  of  his 
life.  His  very  effort  to  secure  it  by  worthy  means 
will  furnish  him  with  a  motive  for  exertion,  and  his 
idea  of  manhood,  in  proportion  as  it  is  elevated,  will 
steady  and  animate  his  motives.  The  pursuit  of  it 
will  prove  no  obstacle  to  the  acquisition  of  wealth  or 
fame ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  not  only  is  the  attain- 
ment of  a  good  character  an  almost  indispensable 
thing  for  him  who  would  make  his  mark  in  the  world, 
but  such  is  the  nature  of  character  that  the  control 
over  the  acts  and  thoughts  of  an  individual,  which 
must  be  acquired  before  character  can  exhibit  inher- 
ent strength,  conduces,  in  a  very  great  degree,  to  the 
very  condition  which  produces  success. 

Character  is  the  grandest  thing  man  can  live  for ; 
it  is  to  have  worth  of  soul,  wealth  of  heart,  diamond- 
dust  of  mind.  He  who  has  this  aim  lives  to  be  what 
he  ought  to  be,  and  to  do  what  duty  requires.  To 
him  comes  fame,  delighted  to  crown  him  with  her 
wreaths  of  honor.  Sum  it  up  as  we  will,  character 
is  the  great  desideratum  of  human  life.  This  truth, 
sublime  in  its  simplicity  and  powerful  in  its  beauty, 
is  the  highest  lesson  of  religion,  the  first  that  youth 
should  learn,  and  the  last  that  age  should  forget. 


244  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


"Prudence,  thou  virtue  of  the  mind,  by  which 
We  do  consult  of  all  that's  good  or  ill." 

AMONGST  the  milder  virtues  which  contribute 
to  round  out  and  perfect  life  is  to  be  found 
Prudence.  It  is  a  mild  and  pleasing"  quality. 
It  counsels  moderation  and  guidance  by  wisdom. 
It  is  practical  wisdom,  and  comes  of  the  cultivated 
judgment.  It  has  reference  in  all  things  to  fitness, 
to  propriety,  judging  wisely  of  the  right  thing  to  be 
done  and  the  right  way  of  doing  it.  It  calculates  the 
means,  order,  time,  and  method  of  doing.  Prudence 
learns  from  experience  quickened  by  knowledge.  It 
seeks  to  keep  the  practical  path  rather  than  that 
which,  indeed,  promises  brilliant  results,  but  takes 
the  traveler  along  dangerous  precipices  and  through 
places  where  there  is  a  risk  of  his  losing  all. 

The  most  brilliant  attainments  are  rendered  nuga- 
tory for  want  of  prudence,  as  the  giant  deprived  of 
his  eyes  is  only  the  more  exposed  by  reason  of  his 
enormous  strength  and  stature.  Prudence  is  the 
perfection  of  reason,  and  a  guide  to  us  in  all  the  du- 
ties of  life.  It  is  invariably  found  in  men  of  good 
sound  sense,  and  is,  indeed,  their  most  shining  quality, 
giving  value  as  it  does  to  all  the  rest,  sets  them  to 
work  in  their  proper  time  and  places,  and  turns  them 
to  the  advantage  of  the  person  who  is  possessed  of 
them.  Without  it  learning  is  pedantry  and  wit  im- 
pertinence ;  virtue  itself  looks  like  weakness.  The 


PRUDENCE.  245 

best  parts  only  qualify  a  man  to  be  more  sprightly  in 
errors  and  active  to  his  own  principles.  Prudence  is 
a  quality  incompatible  with  vice,  and  can  never  be 
effectually  enlisted  in  its  cause,  and  he  who  deliber- 
ately gives  himself  over  to  the  power  of  vice  and 
evil  habits  can  never  be  said  to  be  acting  according 
to  the  dictates  of  the  highest  reason,  wherein  pru- 
dence is  always  distinguished. 

It  is  difficult  to  define  wherein  prudence  doth  con- 
sist, inasmuch  as  the  rules  of  prudence  in  general, 
like  the  laws  of  the  stone  tablet,  are  for  the  most 
part  prohibitive.  "Thou  shalt  not,"  is  their  charac- 
teristic formula.  It  is  easier  to  state  what  is  for- 
bidden under  certain  circumstances  than  what  is 
required.  It  is  shown  in  practical  every-day  life  by 
thoughtful  actions  on  the  thousand  petty  questions 
which  are  constantly  claiming  attention.  It  is  hesi- 
tating and  slow  to  believe  what  is  not  sanctioned  by 
past  experience,  and  prefers  not  to  run  any  very 
great  risks  in  testing  new  plans  for  gaining  the  great 
object  of  life,  preferring  the  sure  to  the  doubtful, 
even  though  the  latter  may  seem  to  have  many  ad- 
vantages. It  recognizes  that  there  is  a  necessity  for 
a  certain  amount  of  caution  in  all  the  transactions  of 
business;  hence  the  old  saying,  "Prudent  men  lock 
up  their  motives,  letting  familiars  have  a  key  to  their 
hearts  as  to  their  garden."  It  weighs  long  and  care- 
fully the  reasons  for  or  against  any  proposed  line  of 
conduct,  and  calls  upon  the  will  to  act  only  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  result  of  such  reasoning. 

In  nothing  does  prudence  display  itself  more  thao 


246  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

in  relation  to  the  little  affairs  of  life.  There  are 
those  who  in  the  confidence  of  superior  capacities  or 
attainments  neglect  the  common  maxims  of  life.  But 
this  is  a  fatal  delusion,  as  nothing  will  supply  the  want 
of  prudence  in  the  ordinary  vocations  of  business. 
no  matter  how  superior  the  other  qualities.  Negli- 
gence and  irregularity  long  continued  will  make 
knowledge  useless,  wit  ridiculous,  and  genius  con- 
temptible. The  merchant  may,  indeed,  win  thou- 
sands by  speculations ;  but  the  only  sure  way  of  at- 
taining to  fortune,  place,  or  honor  is  by  obedience 
to  well-known  laws  of  business  prudence,  which  dis- 
countenance speculation  unbased  on  substantial  facts. 

Such  are  the  vicissitudes  of  human  life  that,  what- 
ever the  calling  may  be,  scarcely  a  day  passes  that 
dees  not  call  upon  all  to  exercise  this  quality  in  some 
of  the  common  every-day  occurences,  as  well  as  in 
the  unexpected  emergencies  which  fate  is  constantly 
presenting  to  us^  The  triumph  of  its  long  exercise 
is  to  be  seen  in  those  moments  when  to  come  at  a 
wrong  decision  means  disastrous  defeat,  the  fatal 
overthrow  of  the  hopes  of  a  life-time.  It  by  degrees 
forms  for  itself  a  standard  of  duty  and  propriety,  ac- 
cumulates rules  and  maxims  of  conduct,  and  materi- 
als for  reflection  and  meditation. 

The  tongue  of  prudence  knows  when  to  speak 
and  when  to  be  silent.  It  is  not  cowardly ;  it  dares 
to  say  all  that  need  be  said,  but  it  does  not  tell  all 
that  it  knows.  It  is  careful  what  it  speaks,  when  it 
speaks,  and  to  whom  it  speaks.  When  you  have 
need  of  a  needle  you  move  your  fingers  delicately 


TEMPERANCE.  247 

with  a  wise  caution.  Use  the  same  prudence  with 
the  inevitable  affairs  of  life  ;  give  attention,  and  keep 
yourself  from  undue  precipitation,  otherwise  it  will 
fare  hardly  with  you. 


[HERE  is  beauty  in  temperance  like  that  which 
is  portrayed  in  virtue  and  in  truth.  It  is  a 
close  ally  of  both,  and,  like  them,  has  that 
all-pervading  essence  and  quality  which  chas- 
tens the  feelings,  invigorates  the  mind,  and  displays 
the  perfection  of  the  soul  in  the  very  aspect.  Like 
water  from  the  rill,  rain  from  the  cloud,  or  light  from 
the  heavenly  bodies,  the  thought  issues  pure  from 
within,  refreshing,  unsullied,  and  radiant.  There  is 
no  grossness,  no  dross,  no  corruption,  for  temper- 
ance, when  effectually  realized,  is  full  of  loveliness 
and  joy,  and  virtue  and  purity  are  the  lineaments 
in  which  it  lives.  Temperance  is  a  virtue  without 
pride,  and  fortune  without  envy  ;  the  best  guardian 
of  youth  and  support  of  old  age;  the  preceptor  of 
reason  as  well  as  of  religion,  and  physician  of  the 
soul  as  well  as  the  body ;  the  tutelar  goddess  of 
health  and  universal  medicine  of  life. 

Temperance  keeps  the  senses  clear  and  unem- 
barrassed, and  makes  them  seize  the  object  with 
more  keenness  and  satisfaction.  It  appears  with  life 
in  the  face  and  decorum  in  the  person.  It  gives 


248  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

you  the  command  of  your  head,  secures  you  health, 
and  preserves  you  in  a  condition  for  business.  Tem- 
perance is  a  virtue  which  casts  the  truest  luster  upon 
the  person  it  is  lodged  in,  and  has  the  most  general 
influence  upon  all  other  particular  virtues  of  any 
that  the  soul  of  man  is  capable  of;  indeed,  so  gen- 
eral is  it  that  there  is  hardly  any  noble  quality  or 
endowment  of  the  mind  but  must  own  temperance 
either  for  its  parent  or  its  nurse ;  it  is  the  greatest 
strengthener  and  clearer  of  reason,  and  the  best 
preparer  of  it  for  religion ;  it  is  the  sister  of  pru- 
dence and  the  handmaid  to  devotion. 

Pleasure  has  been  aptly  compared  to  a  sea. 
Intemperance  is  a  maelstrom  situated  in  the  very 
center  of  this  great  sea.  Not  one  path  alone  leads 
to  this  gulf  of  woe ;  not  one  only  current,  as  too 
many  have  supposed,  hurries  down  this  dark  abyss, 
but  all  around,  on  every  side,  the  waters  tend  down- 
ward. There  are  a  thousand  currents  leading  in. 
Some,  it  is  true,  are  more  rapid  than  others.  Some 
rush  in  quickly  and  bear  down  all  who  ride  upon 
their  waters  to  quick  and  certain  ruin.  Others  glide 
more  slowly,  but  none  the  less  surely,  to  the  same 
end.  The  streams  of  intemperance  are  legions. 
The  allurements  that  lead  downward  are  equally 
numerous.  Every  appetite,  lust,  passion,  and  feel- 
ing holds  out  various  allurements  to  intemperate 
indulgence.  There  is  not  a  power  of  the  mind,  af- 
fection of  the  heart,  nor  desire  of  the  body  that  may 
not  dispose  to  some  form  of  intemperance  which  may 
injure  the  physical  being  or  paralyze  the  energies  of 


TEMPERANCE.  249 

the  mind.  All  forms  of  intemperance  are  evil  and 
destroy  some  function  of  mind  or  body — some  mem- 
ber or  faculty,  the  disease  of  which  spreads  inhar- 
mony  through  the  whole.  The  dangers  from  this 
source  are  imminent  and  fearful,  and  spread  on 
every  hand. 

Temperance  conduces  to  health;  indeed,  it  may 
be  said  that  health  can  only.be  acquired  or  main- 
tained by  temperance.  This  is  the  law  primary  and 
essential  which  every  youth  should  know,  and  know 
by  heart.  Bodily  pains  and  aches  tell  of  intemper- 
ance in  some  directions.  Pain  means  penalty,  and 
penalty  means  that  its  sufferer  should  reform.  The 
most  of  our  pains  are  occasioned  by  intemperance. 
This  is  the  fruitful  mother  of  nine-tenths  of  the 
diseases  that  flesh  is  heir  to  and  the  sins  that  the 
soul  doth  commit.  We  sin  by  excess  of  anger,  lust, 
appetite,  affection,  love  of  gain,  authority,  or  praise. 
Few,  if  any,  are  the  sins  that  grow  not  out  of  intem- 
perance in  some  form.  Intemperance  means  excess. 
A  thing  is  good  as  long  as  it  is  necessary.  All 
beyond  necessity,  or  what  is  necessary,  is  evil. 
Money  is  good;  more  than  what  is  necessary  to 
the  ends  of  life  is  evil.  Food  is  good ;  too  much 
is  evil.  Light  is  good ;  too  much  will  put  out  our 
eyes.  Water  is  good ;  too  much  will  destroy  us. 
Heat  is  good ;  too  much  will  burn  us.  The  praise 
.of  men  is  good ;  too  much  will  ruin  us.  The  love 
of  life  is  good;  too  much  will  make  us  miserable. 
Fear  is  good ;  too  much  hath  torment.  Prayer  is 
good ;  too  much  cheats  labor  of  its  life  and  is  evil. 


250  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Sympathy  is  good;  too  much  floods  us  with  perpet- 
ual grief.  Reason  is  good ;  too  much  pressed  with 
labor  it  dethrones  the  mind  and  spreads  ruin  abroad. 
Any  excess  in  the  use  or  activity  of  a  good  thing  is 
intemperance  and,  therefore,  evil,  and  to  be  avoided. 

Temperance  as  a  virtue  dwells  in  the  heart.  It 
consists  in  a  rigid  subjection  of  every  inward  feeling 
and  power  to  the  rule  of  right  reason.  He  who 
would  be  thoroughly  temperate  must  master  himself. 
His  passions  must  be  his  subjects  obeying  his  will. 
From  the  heart  he  must  be  temperate.  He  must 
remember  that  the  intemperance  slope  is  an  almost 
imperceptible  one,  and  that  he  may  be  gliding  down 
it  when  he  dreams  of  naught  but  safety.  He  must 
remember,  too,  that  the  field  of  temperance  is  a 
broad  one,  covering  the  whole  area  of  life.  It  is  not 
simply  against  one  form  of  appetite,  one  species  of  in- 
dulgence that  he  is  to  guard,  but  against  all.  There 
are  other  species  of  intemperate  indulgence,  of  which 
we  are  all  more  or  less  guilty,  than  indulgence  in 
drink.  Indeed,  the  indulgence  of  appetite  carries 
away  more  victims  from  the  earth  than  does  drunk- 
enness, and  spreads  a  wider  devastation  and  a  more 
general  blight. 

All  species  of  intemperance  grow  of  a  want  of 
self-control.  To  be  a  temperance  man  a  man  must 
master  himself,  must  be  a  brave,  noble  conqueror  of 
every  enemy  within  his  own  bosom.  It  is  no  small 
matter.  It  is  the  masterpiece  of  human  attainments. 
The  laws  of  temperance  can  never  be  broken  with 
impunity.  The  excess  is  committed  to-day,  but  the 


TEMPERANCE.  251 

effect  is  experienced  to-morrow.  The  law  of  nature, 
invariable  in  its  operation,  is,  that  penalty  shall  fol- 
low excess.  The  punishment  is  mild  at  first,  but 
afterwards  more  and  more  severe,  until,  when  na* 
ture's  warning  voice  has  been  unheeded  and  her  pun- 
ishments disregarded,  the  final  penalty  is  death.  If 
an  admonitory  sign-board  were  hung  out  for  the 
benefit  of  the  young,  there  should  be  inscribed  upon 
it  in  prominent  characters  "no  excess."  It  is  to  be 
remembered  that  the  best  principles,  if  pushed  too 
far,  degenerate  into  fatal  vices.  Generosity  is  nearly 
allied  to  extravagance ;  charity  itself  may  lead  to 
ruin;  the  sternness  of  justice  is  but  one  step  removed 
from  the  severity  of  oppression. 

If  one  would  make  the  most  of  life  he  must  be 
temperate  in  all  things.  It  is  the  application  of  rea- 
son to  all  the  daily  acts  of  life.  It  is  the  highest  and 
best  form  of  life  that  one  can  attain  to.  It  leads  not 
only  to  the  greatest  happiness,  but  also  to  honor  and 
position.  By  abstaining  from  most  things  it  is  sur- 
prising how  many  things  we  enjoy.  To  establish 
thoroughly  and  widely  the  principles  of  temperance 
we  must  begin  with  the  youth.  They  have  a  high 
aspiration  to  be  good  and  true.  They  see  a  glory  in 
the  path  of  right.  Freedom  is  a  word  of  power  in 
their  ears.  Virtue  has  many  charms  not  only  for 
their  hearts,  but  for  their  imaginations.  They  have 
health,  competency,  and  happiness.  They  are  ambi- 
tious of  every  good.  When  the  true  principles  of 
temperance  are  established  in  early  life  and  made 
the  controlling  power  through  life,  they  insure  health, 


; : i: i.    :-i:cr    7  I..TZ 


arch  ns  orer  wirib  giorjr,  for  the  old 


LUGALITY  nay  be  tenned  the  daugfcter  of 

Ji  JTJOCDCC^   uBC    SSftCf   OK     m-C!BBDQaOCC«    jf ff^"f    ^hp 
'..'-'-."  ~    '. '.    „  ~.r-  ~-      '-„'".    r,i  Vr         .1    .-.    \~;~.~.~  •  "  ~.  ,\ 

bronglst  vito  jcfiooL     It  is  calcnkmoa  reafized ;  it  is 

". :   T. ~~.''V.*~.  '.".  ~~~. . '.-.'.   '.'.   ~^~~-^~~.  ~.~.       .'.     -. 


Ai 

keeps  die  stnugte  and  safe 
Avarice  sneers  at  her  as  profase,  and 


FRUGALITY.  253 

Prodigality  scorns  at  her  as  penurious.  To  the  poor 
she  is  indispensable ;  to  those  of  moderate  means  she 
is  found  the  representative  of  wisdom.  Joined  to  in- 
dustry and  sobriety,  she  is  a  better  outfit  to  business 
than  a  dowry.  She  conducts  her  votaries  to  compe- 
tence and  honor,  while  Profuseness  is  a  cruel  and 
crafty  demon,  that  gradually  involves  her  followers  in 
dependence  and  debt. 

Frugality  shineth  in  her  best  light  when  joined  to 
liberality.  The  first  consists  in  leaving  off  superflu- 
ous expense ;  the  last  is  bestowing  them  to  the  ben- 
efit of  those  that  need.  The  first  without  the  last 
begets  covetousness  ;  the  last  without  the  first  begets 
prodigality.  There  is  ever  a  golden  mean  between 
frugality  and  stinginess,  or  closeness.  He  that  spar- 
eth  in  every  thing  is  an  inexcusable  niggard ;  he  that 
spareth  in  nothing  is  an  inexcusable  madman.  The 
golden  mean  of  frugality  is  to  spare  in  what  is  least 
necessary,  and  to  lay  out  more  liberally  in  what  is 
most  required  in  our  several  circumstances.  It  is  no 
man's  duty  to  deny  himself  every  amusement,  every 
recreation,  every  comfort,  that  he  may  get  rich.  It 
is  no  man's  duty  to  make  an  iceberg  of  himself, 
and  to  deny  himself  the  enjoyment  that  results  from 
his  generous  actions,  merely  that  he  may  hoard 
wealth  for  his  heirs  to  quarrel  about.  But  there  is 
an  economy  which  is  especially  commendable  in  the 
man  who  struggles  with  poverty,  and  is  every  man's 
duty — an  economy  which  is  consistent  with  happi- 
ness, and  which  must  be  practiced  if  the  poor  man 
would  secure  independence. 


254  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

When  one  is  blessed  with  good  sense  and  fair 
opportunities,  this  spirit  of  economy  is  one  of  the 
most  beneficial  of  all  secular  gifts,  and  takes  high 
rank  among  the  minor  virtues.  It  is  by  this  myste- 
rious power  that  the  loaf  is  multiplied,  that  using 
does  not  waste,  that  little  becomes  much,  that  scat- 
tered fragments  grow  to  unity,  and  that  out  of  noth- 
ing, or  next  to  nothing,  comes  the  miracle  of  some- 
thing. Frugality  is  not  merely  saving,  still  less 
parsimony.  It  is  foresight  and  combination.  It  is 
insight  and  arrangement.  It  is  a  subtle  philosophy 
of  things,  by  which  new  uses,  new  compositions,  are 
discovered.  It  causes  inert  things  to  labor,  useless 
things  to  serve  our  necessities,  perishing  things  to 
renew  their  vigor,  and  all  things  to  exert  themselves 
for  human  comfort. 

As  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  depends  more 
upon  what  a  man  remembers  than  upon  the  quantity 
of  his  reading,  so  the  acquisition  of  property  depends 
more  upon  what  is  saved  than  upon  what  is  earned. 
The  largest  reservoir,  though  fed  by  abundant  and 
living  springs,  will  fail  to  supply  their  owners  with 
water  if  secret  leaking-places  are  permitted  to  drain 
off  their  contents.  In  like  manner,  though  by  his 
skill  and  energy  a  man  may  convert  his  business  into 
a  flowing  Pactolus,  ever  depositing  its  golden  sands 
in  his  coffers,  yet,  through  the  numerous  wants  of 
unfrugal  habits,  he  may  live  embarrassed  and  die 
poor.  Economy  is  the  guardian  of  property,  the 
good  genius  whose  presence  guides  the  footsteps  of 
every  prosperous  and  successful  man. 


FRUGALITY.  255 

Either  a  man  must  be  content  with  poverty  all 
his  life,  or  else  be  willing  to  deny  himself  some  lux- 
uries, and  save  to  lay  the  base  of  independence  in 
the  future.  But  if  a  man  defies  the  future,  and 
spends  all  that  he  earns,  whether  it  be  much  or  little, 
let  him  look  for  lean  and  hungry  want  at  some  future 
time  ;  for  it  will  surely  come,  no  matter  what  he 
thinks.  To  economize  and  be  frugal  is  absolutely 
the  only  way  to  get  a  solid  fortune ;  there  is  no  other 
certain  mode  on  earth.  Those  who  shut  their  eyes 
and  ears  to  these  plain  facts  will  be  forever  poor. 
Fortune  does  not  give  away  her  real  and  substantial 
goods.  She  sells  them  to  the  highest  bidder,  to  the 
hardest,  wisest  worker  for  the  boon.  Men  never 
make  so  fatal  a  mistake  as  when  they  think  they  are 
mere  creatures  of  fate  ;  it  is  the  sheerest  folly  in  the 
world.  Every  man  may  make  or  mar  his  life,  which- 
ever he  may  choose.  Fortune  is  for  those  who,  by 
diligence,  honesty  and  frugality,  place  themselves  in 
a  position  to  grasp  hold  of  fortune  when  it  appears 
in  view. 

Simple  industry  and  thrift  will  go  far  towards 
making  any  person  of  ordinary  working  faculties 
comparatively  independent  in  his  means.  Almost 
any  working-man  may  be  so,  provided  he  will  care- 
fully husband  his  resources  and  watch  the  little  out- 
lets of  useless  expenditures.  A  penny  is  a  very 
small  matter,  yet  the  comfort  of  thousands  of  families 
depends  upon  the  proper  saving  and  spending  of 
pennies.  If  a  man  allows  the  little  pennies  —  the 
results  of  his  hard  work — to  slip  out  of  his  fingers 


256  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

he^vill  find  that  his  life  is  little  raised  above  one  of 
mere  animal  drudgery. 

One  way  in  which  true  economy  is  shown  con- 
sists in  living  within  one's  income.  This  is  the  grand 
element  of  success  in  acquiring  property.  To  carry 
it  out  requires  resolution,  self-denial,  self-reliance. 
But  it  must  be  done,  or  grinding  poverty  will  accom- 
pany you  through  life.  We  urge  upon  all  young  men 
who  are  just  starting  in  life  to  make  it  an  invariable 
rule  to  lay  aside  a  certain  proportion  of  their  income, 
whatever  that  income  may  be.  Extravagant  expend- 
itures occasion  a  large  part  of  the  suffering  of  a 
great  majority  of  people.  And  extravagance  is  wholly 
a  relative  "term.  What  is  not  at  all  extravagant 
for  one  person  may  be  very  much  so  for  another. 
Expenditures,  no  matter  how  small  in  themselves 
they  may  be,  are  always  extravagant  when  they  come 
fully  up  to  the  entire  amount  of  a  person's  income. 

On  every  hand  we  see  people  living  on  credit, 
putting  off  pay-day  to  the  last,  making,  in  the  end, 
some  desperate  effort — generally  by  borrowing — to 
scrape  the  money  together,  and  then  struggling  on 
again  with  the  canker  of  care  eating  at  their  hearts ; 
but  their  exertions  are  vain;  they  land  at  last  in  the 
inevitable  goal  of  bankruptcy.  If  they  would  only 
be  content  to  make  the  push  in  the  beginning,  in- 
stead of  the  end,  they  would  save  themselves  all 
this  misery.  The  great  secret  of  being  solvent  and 
well-to-do  and  comfortable  is  to  get  ahead  of  your 
expenses.  Eat  and  drink  this  month  what  you  earned 
last  month,  not  what  you  are  going  to  earn  next 


FRUGALITY.  257 

month.  It  is  unsafe  to  draw  drafts  on  the  future, 
for  hope  is  deceitful,  and  your  paper  is  liable  to  go 
to  protest.  When  one  is  once  weighed  down  with  a 
load  of  debt  he  loses  the  sense  of  being  free  and 
independent.  The  man  with  his  fine  house,  his  glit- 
tering carriage,  and  his  rich  banquets,  for  which  he 
is  in  debt,  is  a  slave,  a  prisoner,  dragging  his  chains 
behind  him  through  all  the  grandeur  of  the  false 
world  through  which  he  moves. 

In  urging  a  course  of  strict  economy  we  admit 
that  it  is  hard,  embarrassing,  perplexing,  onerous, 
but  it  is  by  no  means  impracticable.  A  cool  survey 
of  one's  expenditures,  compared  with  his  income  ;  a 
wise  balancing  of  ends  to  be  gained ;  a  firm  and  calm 
determination  to  break  with  custom  wherever  it  is 
opposed  to  good  sense,  and  a  patience  that  does  not 
chafe  at  small  and  gradual  results,  will  do  much 
towards  establishing  the  principle  of  economy  and 
securing  its  benefits.  Economy  has,  however,  deeper 
roots  than  even  this — in  the  desires.  It  is  there, 
after  all,  that  we  control  our  expenditures.  As  a 
general  rule  we  may  be  sure  that  we  shall  spend  our 
money  for  what  we  most  earnestly  crave.  If  it  be 
luxury  and  display  then  it  will  melt  into  costly  viands 
and  soft  clothing,  handsome  dwellings  and  rich  furni- 
ture. If,  on  the  other  hand,  our  desires  are  for 
higher  enjoyments,  or  for  benevolent  purposes,  our 
money  will  flow  into  these  channels.  Every  one, 
then,  who  cherishes  in  himself,  or  excites  in  others, 
a  desire  more  pure  and  noble  than  existed  before, 
who  draws  the  heart  from  the  craving  of  sense  to 
17 


258  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

those  of  soul,  from  self  to  others,  from  what  is  low, 
sensual,  and  wrong  to  what  is  pure,  elevating,  and 
right,  in  so  far  establishes,  on  the  firmest  of  all 
foundations,  a  wise  economy. 

A  true  economy  appears  to  induce  the  exertion 
of  almost  every  laudable  emotion ;  a  strict  regard  to 
honesty;  a  laudable  spirit  of  independence;  a  judi- 
cious prudence  in  providing  for  the  wants,  and  a 
steady  benevolence  in  preparing  for  the  claims  of 
the  future.  Such  an  economy  can  but  appeal  to  the 
good  sense  of  all  who  candidly  ponder  over  life  and 
its  realties.  To  spend  all  that  you  acquire  as  soon 
as  you  gain  it  is  to  lead  a  butterfly  existence.  Were 
you  always  to  be  young  and  free  from  sickness  and 
care,  and  life  were  to  pass  as  one  perpetual  Summer, 
it  would  do  no  harm  to  so  live ;  but  care  will  come, 
sickness  may  strike  you  at  any  time,  and,  if  you  es- 
cape these,  yet  you  know  life  has  its  Autumnal  and 
Winter  seasons  as  well  as  its  Summer.  And,  alas ! 
for  the  veteran  who  finds  himself  obliged  to  learn  in 
his  latter  years  the  lessons  of  strict  economy  for  the 
first  time,  having  lived  in  utter  defiance  of  them  in 
the  season  of  youth  and  strength. 


PATIENCE.  259 


lATIENCE  is  the  ballast  of  the  soul,  that  will 
keep  it  from  rolling  and  tumbling  in  the  great- 
est storms.  All  life  is  but  one  vast  represen- 
tation of  the  beauty  and  value  of  patience. 
Troubles  and  sorrows  are  in  store  for  all.  It  is 
useless  to  try  to  escape  them,  and,  indeed,  it  is  well 
we  can  not,  as  they  seem  essential  to  the  perfection 
and  development  of  character  into  its  highest  and 
best  form.  But  their  disciplinary  value  arises  from 
the  great  lesson  of  patience  they  are  constantly  in- 
culcating. 

Either  patience  must  be  a  quality  graciously  in- 
herent in  the  heart  of  man,  or  it  must  be  acquired 
as  the  lesson  of  years'  experience,  if  he  would  enjoy 
the  greatest  good  of  life.  Without  it  prosperity  will 
be  continually  disturbed,  and  adversity  will  be  clouded 
with  double  darkness.  The  loud  complaint,  the  quer- 
ulous temper  and  fretful  spirit  disgrace  every  charac- 
ter. We  weaken  thereby  the  sympathy  of  others, 
and  estrange  them  from  offices  of  kindness  and  com- 
fort. But  to  maintain  a  steady  and  unbroken  mind 
amidst  all  the  shocks  of  adversity  forms  the  highest 
honor  of  man.  Afflictions  supported  by  patience  and 
surmounted  by  fortitude  give  the  last  finishing  stroke 
to  the  heroic  and  virtuous  character.  Patience  pro- 
duces unity  in  the  Church,  loyalty  in  the  state,  har- 
mony in  families  and  societies.  She  comforts  the 
poor  and  moderates  the  rich ;  she  makes  us  humble 


260  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

in  prosperity,  cheerful  in  adversity,  unmoved  by  cal- 
umny, and  above  reproach ;  she  teaches  us  to  forgive 
those  who  have  injured  us,  and  to  be  the  first  in  ask- 
ing the  forgiveness  of  those  whom  we  have  injured  ; 
she  delights  the  faithful,  and  invites  the  unbelieving ; 
she  adorns  the  woman  and  approves  the  man  ;  she  is 
beautiful  in  either  sex  and  every  age. 

Patience  has  been  defined  as  the  "courage  of 
virtue  ;"  the  principle  which  enables  us  to  lessen  the 
pains  of  mind  or  body  ;  an  emotion  that  does  not  so 
much  add  to  the  number  of  our  joys  as  it  tends  to 
diminish  the  number  of  our  sufferings.  If  life  is 
made  to  abound  with  pains  and  troubles  by  the  errors 
and  the  crimes  of  man,  it  is  no  small  advantage  to 
have  a  faculty  that  enables  us  to  soften  these  pains 
and  ameliorate  these  troubles.  He  that  has  patience 
can  have  what  he  will.  There  is  no  road  too  long  to 
the  man  who  advances  deliberately  and  without  undue 
haste.  There  are  no  honors  too  distant  for  the  man 
who  prepares  himself  for  them  with  patience.  Nature 
herself  abounds  with  examples  of  patience.  Day 
follows  the  murkiest  night,  and  when  the  time  comes 
the  latest  fruits  also  ripen.  Its  most  beneficent  ope- 
rations, and  those  which  take  place  on  a  grand  scale, 
are  the  results  of  patience.  The  great  works  of 
human  power,  achieved  by  the  hand  of  genius,  are 
but  eloquent  examples  of  what  may  be  achieved  by 
the  exercise  of  this  virtue.  History  and  biography 
abound  with  examples  of  signal  patience  shown  by 
great  men  under  trying  circumstances. 

In   the   pursuit  of  wordly  success  patience  or  a 


PATIESCE.  261 

willingness  to  bide  one's  time  is  no  less  necessary  as 
a  factor  than  perseverance.  Says  De  Maistre,  "To 
know  how  to  wait  is  the  great  secret  of  success." 
And  of  all  the  lessons  that  humanity  teaches  in  this 
school  of  the  world,  the  hardest  is  to  wait.  Not  to 
wait  with  folded  hands  that  claim  life's  prizes  without 
previous  effort,  but  having  toiled  and  struggled  and 
crowded  the  slow  years  with  trial  to  see  then  no  're- 
sults, or,  perhaps,  disastrous  results,  and  yet  to  stand 
firm,  to  preserve  one's  poise,  and  relax  no  effort, — 
this,  it  has  been  truly  said,  is  greatness,  whether 
achieved  by  man  or  woman.  The  world  can  not  be 
circumnavigated  by  one  wind.  The  grandest  results 
can  not  be  achieved  in  a  day.  The  fruits  that  are 
best  worth  plucking  usually  ripen  the'  most  slowly, 
and,  therefore,  every  one  who  would  gain  a  solid 
success  must  learn  "to  labor  and  to  wait."  What  a 
world  of  meaning  in  those  few  words !  And  how 
many  are  possessed  of  the  moral  courage  to  live  in 
that  state?  It  is  the  tendency  of  the  times  to  be  in 
a  hurry  when  there  is  any  object  to  be  accomplished. 
In  the  pursuit  of  riches  it  is  only  the  exceptional 
persons  who  are  content  with  slow  gains,  willing  to 
acquire  wealth  by  adding  penny  to  penny,  dollar  to 
dollar ;  the  mass  of  business  men  are  too  apt  to  de- 
spise such  a  tedious  and  laborious  means  of  ascent, 
and  they  rush  headlong  into  schemes  for  the  sudden 
acquisition  of  wealth.  Or,  in  the  field  of  professional 
life,  we  are  too  prone  to  forget  there  is  no  royal  road 
to  great  acquirements,  and  feel  an  unwillingness  to 
lay  broad  and  deep,  by  years  of  patient  study  and 


262  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

laborious  research,  the  foundation  whereon  to  build 
an  enduring  monument  worthy  of  public  credit  and 
renown. 

The  history  of  all  who  are  honored  in  the  world 
of  literature,  arts,  or  science  is  the  history  of  patient 
study  for  years,  and  its  final  triumph.  Elihu  Burritt 
says :  "  All  that  I  have  accomplished,  or  expect  or 
hope  to  accomplish,  has  been,  and  will  be,  by  that 
patient,  persevering  process  of  accretion  which  builds 
the  ant-heap,  particle  by  particle,  thought  by  thought, 
fact  by  fact."  Labor  still  is,  and  ever  will  be,  the 
inevitable  price  set  upon  every  thing  which  is  valu- 
able. Hence,  if  we  would  acquire  wisdom,  we  must 
diligently  apply  ourselves,  and  confront  the  same  con- 
tinuous application  which  our  forefathers  did.  We 
must  be  satisfied  to  work  energetically  with  a  pur- 
pose, and  wait  the  results  with  patience.  All  prog- 
ress, of  the  best  kind,  is  slow  ;  but  to  him  who  works 
faithfully  and  in  a  right  spirit,  be  sure  that  the  reward 
will  be  vouchsafed  in  its  own  good  time.  Courage 
must  have  sunk  in  despair,  and  the  world  must  have 
remained  unimproved  and  unornamented  if  man  had 
merely  compared  the  effect  of  a  single  stroke  of  the 
chisel  with  the  pyramid  to  be  raised,  or  of  a  single 
impression  of  the  spade  with  the  mountain  to  be 
leveled.  We  must  continuously  apply  ourselves  to 
right  pursuits,  and  we  can  not  fail  to  advance  stead- 
ily, though  it  may  be  unconsciously. 

In  all  evils  which  admit  a  remedy  impatience 
should  be  avoided,  because  it  wastes  that  time  and 
attention  in  complaints  that,  if  properly  applied, 


PATIENCE.  263 

micrlit  remove  the  cause.     In  cases  that  admit  of  no 

o 

remedy  it  is  worse  than  useless  to  give  way  to  impa- 
tience, both  because  of  the  utter  uselessness  of  so 
doing  as  well  as  that  the  time  thus  spent  could  be 
better  employed  in  the  furtherance  of  useful  designs. 
Since,  then,  these  two  classes  of  ills  comprise  all  to 
which  human  nature  is  subject,  why  not  make  a  de- 
termined struggle  against  impatience  in  every  form  ? 
It  accomplishes  nothing  that  is  of  value,  divides  our 
efforts,  frustrates  our  plans,  and  generally  succeeds 
in  making  our  lives  miserable  not  only  to  ourselves, 
but  to  all  around  us. 

How  much  of  home  happiness  and  comfort  de- 
pends upon  the  exercise  of  patience !  Not  a  day 
passes  but  calls  for  its  exercise  from  those  who  sus- 
tain the  nearest  and  dearest  relations  to  each  other. 
Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work  in  the  home 
circle.  Let  parents  be  patient  with  their  children. 
They  are  weak,  and  you  are  strong.  They  stand  at 
the  eastern  gate  of  life.  Experience  has  not  taught 
them  to  speak  carefully  and  to  go  softly.  What  if 
their  plays  and  amusements  do  grate  upon  your 
nerves.  Bear  with  them  patiently.  Care  and  time 
will  soon  enough  check  their  childish  impulses.  Be 
patient  with  your  friends.  They  are  neither  omnis- 
cient nor  omnipotent.  They  can  not  see  your  heart, 
and  may  misunderstand  you.  They  do  not  know 
what  is  best  for  you,  and  may  select  what  is  worst. 
What  if,  also,  they  lack  purity  of  purpose  or  tenacity 
of  affection ;  do  not  you  lack  these  graces  ?  Patience 
is  your  refuge.  Endure,  and  in  enduring  conquer 


264  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

them ;  and  if  not  them,  then  at  least  yourself.  Be 
patient  with  pains  and  cares.  These  things  are  killed 
by  enduring  them,  but  made  strong  to  bite  and  sting 
by  feeding  them  with  your  frets  and  fears.  There  is 
no  pain  or  cure  that  can  last  long.  None  of  their 
shall  enter  the  city  of  God.  A  little  while,  and  you 
shall  leave  behind  you  all  your  troubles,  and  forget, 
in  your  first  hour  of  rest,  that  such  things  were  on 
earth.  Above  all,  be  patient  with  your  beloved. 
Love  is  the  best  thing  on  earth  ;  but  it  is  to  be  han- 
dled tenderly,  and  impatience  is  the  nurse  that  kills  it. 
Try  to  smooth  life's  weary  way  each  for  the  other, 
and  in  the  exercise  of  the  heaven-born  virtue  of  pa- 
tience will  you  find  the  sweetest  pleasure  of  life. 


|;ELF-CONTROL  is  the  highest  form  of  courage. 
It  is  the  base  of  all  the  virtues.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  important  but  one  of  the  most  difficult 
things  for  a  powerful  mind  to  be  its  own  master. 
If  he  reigns  within  himself,  and  rules  passions,  de- 
sires, and  fears,  he  ie  more  than  a  king. 

Too  often  self-control  is  made  to  mean  only  the 
control  of  angry  passions,  but  that  is  simply  one  form 
of  self-control ;  in  another — a  higher  and  more  com- 
plete sense — it  means  the  control  over  all  the  pas- 
sions, appetites,  and  impulses.  True  wisdom  ever 
seeks  to  restrain  one  from  blindly  following  his  own 


SELF-CONTROL.  265 

Impulses  and  appetites,  even  those  which  are  moral 
and  intellectual,  as  well  as  those  which  are  animal 
and  sensual.  In  the  supremacy  of  self-control  con- 
sists one  of  the  perfections  of  the  ideal  man.  Not 
to  be  impulsive,  not  to  be  spurred  hither  and  thither 
by  each  desire  that  in  turn  comes  uppermost,  but  to 
be  self-restrained,  self-balanced,  governed  by  the 
joined  decision  of  the  feelings  in  council  assembled, 
before  whom  every  action  shall  have  been  fully  de- 
bated and  calmly  determined, — this  is  true  strength 
and  wisdom. 

Mankind  are  endowed  by  the  Creator  with  quali- 
ties which  raise  them  infinitely  higher  in  the  scale  of 
importance  than  any  other  members  of  the  animal 
world.  They  are  given  reason  as  a  guide  to  follow 
rather  than  instinct.  But  if  men  give  the  reins  to 
their  impulses  and  passions,  from  that  moment  they 
surrender  this  high  prerogative.  They  are  carried 
along  the  current  of  their  life  and  become  the  slaves 
of  their  strongest  desires  for  the  time  being.  To  be 
morally  free — to  be  more  than  an  animal — man  must 
be  able  to.  resist  instinctive  impulses.  This  can  only 
be  done  by  the  exercise  of  self-control.  Thus  it  is 
this  power  that  constitutes  the  real  distinction  be- 
tween a  physical  and  a  moral  life,  and  that  forms 
the  primary  basis  of  individual  character.  Nine- 
tenths  of  the  vicious  desires  that  degrade  society, 
and  the  crimes  that  disgrace  it,  would  shrink  into 
insignificance  before  the  advance  of  valiant  self-dis- 
cipline, self-respect,  and  self-control. 

It   is   necessary  to  one's    personal    happiness  to 


266  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

exercise  control  over  his  words  as  well  as  his  acts, 
for  there  are  words  that  strike  even  harder  than 
blows,  and  men  may  "speak  daggers,"  even  though 
they  use  none.  Character  exhibits  itself  in  control 
of  speech  as  much  as  in  any  thing  else.  The  wise 
and  forbearant  man  will  restrain  his  desire  to  say  a 
smart  or  severe  thing  at  the  expense  of  another's 
feelings,  while  the  fool  speaks  out  what  he  thinks, 
and  will  sacrifice  his  friend  rather  than  his  joke. 
There  are  men  who  are  headlong  in  their  language 
as  in  their  actions  because  of  the  want  of  forbear- 
ance and  self-restraining  patience. 

Government  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  progress. 
The  state  or  nation  that  has  the  best  government 
progresses  most ;  so  the  individual  who  governs  best 
himself  makes  the  most  rapid  progress.  The  native 
energies  of  the  human  soul  press  it  to  activity ;  con- 
trolled they  bear  it  forward  in  right  paths ;  uncon- 
trolled they  urge  it  on  to  probable  destruction.  No 
man  is  free  who  has  not  the  command  over  himself, 
but  allows  his  appetites  or  his  temper  to  control  him ; 
and  to  triumph  over  these  is  of  all  conquests  the 
most  glorious.  He  who  is  enslaved  to  his  passions 
is  worse  governed  than  Athens  was  by  her  thirty 
tyrants.  He  who  indulges  his  sense  in  any  excesses 
renders  himself  obnoxious  to  his  own  reason,  and  to 
gratify  the  brute  in  him  displeases  the  man  and  sets 
his  two  natures  at  variance.  We  ought  not  to  sac- 
rifice the  sentiments  of  the  soul  to  gratify  the  appe- 
tites of  the  body.  Passions  are  excellent  servants, 
and  when  properly  trained  and  disciplined  are  capable 


SELF-CONTROL.  267 

ot  oeing  applied  to  noble  purposes;  but  when  al- 
lowed to  become  masters  they  are  dangerous  in  the 
extreme. 

To  resist  strong  impulses,  to  subdue  powerful 
passions,  to  silence  the  voice  of  vehement  desire,  is 
a  strong  and  noble  virtue.  And  the  virtue  rises  in 
height,  beauty,  and  grandeur  in  proportion  to  the 
strength  of  the  impulses  subdued.  True  virtue  is 
not  always  visible  to  the  gaze  of  the  world.  It  is 
often  still  and  calm.  Composure  is  often  the  highest 
result  of  power,  and  there  are  seasons  when  to  be 
still  demands  immeasurably  higher  strength  than  to 
act.  Think  you  it  demands  no  power  to  calm  the 
stormy  elements  of  passions,  to  throw  off  the  load  of 
dejection,  to  repress  every  repining  thought  when 
the  dearest  hopes  are  withered,  and  to  turn  the 
wounded  spirit  from  dangerous  reveries  and  wasting 
grief  to  the  quiet  discharge  of  ordinary  duties?  Is 
there  no  power  put  forth  when  a  man,  stripped  of 
his  property — of  the  fruits  of  a  life's  labor — quells 
discontent  and  gloomy  forebodings,  and  serenely 
and  patiently  returns  to  the  task  which  providence 
assigns?  We  doubt  not  that  the  all-seeing  eye  of 
God  sometimes  discerns  the  sublimest  human  energy 
under  a  form  and  countenance  which,  by  their  com- 
posure and  tranquillity,  indicate  to  the  human  spec- 
tator only  passive  virtues.  Individuals  who  have 
attained  such  power  are  among  the  great  ones  of 
earth. 

Strength  of  character  consists  in  two  things, — 
power  of  will  and  power  of  self-restraint.  It  requires 


268  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

two  things,  therefore,  for  its  existence, — strong  feel- 
ings and  strong  command  over  them.  Ofttimes  we 
mistake  strong  feelings  for  strong  character.  He  is 
not  a  strong  man  who  bears  all  before  him,  at  whose 
frown  domestics  tremble  and  the  children  of  the 
household  quake ;  on  the  contrary,  he  is  a  weak 
man.  It  is  his  passions  that  are  strong ;  he,  mas- 
tered by  them,  is  weak.  You  must  measure  the 
strength  of  a  man  by  the  power  of  the  feelings  he 
subdues,  not  by  the  power  of  those  that  subdue 
him.  Did  we  ever  see  a  man  receive  a  flagrant 
injury,  and  then  reply  calmly  ?  That  is  a  man  spir- 
itually strong.  Or  did  we  ever  see  a  man  in  anguish 
stand  as  if  carved  out  of  solid  rock  mastering  him- 
self, or  one  bearing  a  hopeless  daily  trial  remain 
silent  and  never  tell  the  world  what  cankered  his 
peace  ?  That  is  strength.  He  who  with  strong  pas 
sions  remains  chaste,  he  who,  keenly  sensitive,  with 
manly  powers  of  indignation  in  him,  can  be  provoked 
and  yet  restrain  himself  and  forgive,  these  are  strong 
men,  the  spiritual  heroes. 

A  strong  temper  is  not  necessarily  a  bad  temper. 
But  the  stronger  the  temper  the  greater,  is  the  need 
of  self-discipline  and  self-control.  Strong  temper  may 
only  mean  a  strong  and  excitable  will.  Uncontrolled 
1t  displays  itself  in  fitful  outbreaks  of  passion  ;  but 
controlled  and  held  in  subjection,  like  steam  pent  up 
within  the  mechanism  of  a  steam  engine,  it  becomes 
the  source  of  energetic  power  and  usefulness.  Some 
of  the  greatest  characters  in  history  have  been  men 
of  strong  tempers,  but  with  equal  strength  of  deter 


SELF-CONTROL.  269 

ruination  to  hold  their  motive  power  under  strict  regu- 
lation and  control.  He  is  usually  a  moral  weakling 
who  has  no  strong  desires  or  strong  temper  to  over- 
come ;  but  he  who  with  these  fails  to  subdue  them  is 
speedily  ruined  by  them. 

Man  is  born  for  dominion  ;  but  he  must  enter  it 
by  conquest,  and  continue  to  do  battle  for  every  inch 
of  ground  added  to  his  sway.  His  infant  exertions 
are  put  forth  to  establish  the  authority  of  his  will 
over  his  physical  powers.  His  after  efforts  are  for 
the  subjection  of  the  will  to  the  judgment.  There 
are  times  which  come  to  all  of  us  when  our  will  is  not 
completely  fashioned  to  our  hands,  and  the  restless 
passions  of  the  mind  hold  us  in  sway — seasons  when 
all  of  us  do  and  say  things  which  are  unbecoming, 
unseemly,  and  which  lower  and  debase  us  in  the 
opinion  of  others  and  also  of  ourselves.  Self-control, 
however,  is  a  virtue  which  will  become  ours  if  we 
cultivate  it  properly,  if  we  strive  right  manfully  for  its 
possession ;  fight  a  bitter  warfare  against  irritability, 
nervousness,  jealousy,  and  all  unkindness  of  heart 
and  soul.  But  it  must  be  cultivated  properly.  One 
exercise  of  it  will  not  win  us  the  victory.  We  must, 
by  constant  repetition  of  efforts,  obtain  at  last  the 
victory  which  will  bring  us  repose,  which  will  enable 
us  to  say  to  the  raging  waves  of  passion,  "Thus  far' 
canst  thou  come,  and  no  farther."  We  must  be 
faithful  to  ourselves,  faithful  in  our  watch  and  ward 
over  tongue,  eye,  and  hand.  It  is  only  by  so  doing 
that  man  comes  to  the  full  development  of  his  pow- 
ers. It  is  alike  the  duty  and  the  birthright  of  man. 


270  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Moderation  in  all  things,  and  regulating  the  actions 
only  by  the  judgment,  are  the  most  eminent  parts  of 
wisdom.  "  He  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit  is  greater 
than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 


"  Prithee,  peace! 
I  dare  do  all  that  may  become  a  man. 

Who  dares  do  more  is  none." 

— SHAKSPEARE. 

COURAGE  consists  not  in  hazarding  without  fear, 
but  being  resolutely  minded  in  a  just  cause. 
The  brave  man  is  not  he  who  feels  no  fear — for 
that  were  stupid  and  irrational — but  he  whose 
noble  soul  subdues  its  fears,  and  bravely  dares  the 
danger  nature  shrinks  from.  True  courage  is  cool 
and  calm.  The  bravest  of  men  have  the  least  of  a 
brutal,  bullying  insolence,  and  in  the  very  time  of 
danger  are  found  the  most  serene  and  free.  Rage 
can  make  a  coward  forget  himself  and  fight.  But 
what  is  done  in  fury  or  anger  can  never  be  placed  to 
the  account  of  courage. 

Courage  enlarges,  cowardice  diminishes  resources. 
In  desperate  straits  the  fears  of  the  timid  aggravate 
the  dangers  that  imperil  the  brave.  For  cowards 
the  road  of  desertion  should  be  kept  open.  They 
will  carry  over  to  the  enemy  nothing  but  their  fears. 
The  poltroon,  like  the  scabbard,  is  an  incumbrance 


; 


COURAGE.  271 

when  once  the  sword  is  drawn.  It  is  the  same  in 
the  every-day  battles  of  life :  to  believe  a  business 
impossible  is  the  way  to  make  it  so.  How  many 
feasible  projects  have  miscarried  through  despond- 
ency, and  been  strangled  in  the  birth  by  a  cowardly 
imagination  !  It  is  better  to  meet  danger  than  to 
wait  for  it.  A  ship  on  a  lee  shore  stands  out  to  sea 
in  a  storm  to  escape  shipwreck.  Impossibilities,  like 
vicious  dogs,  fly  before  him  who  is  not  afraid  of 
them.  Should  misfortune  overtake,  retrench,  work 
harder ;  but  never  fly  the  track.  Confront  difficulties 
with  unflinching  perseverance.  Should  you  then  fail, 
.you  will  be  honored  ;  but  shrink  and  you  will  be  de- 
spised. When  you  put  your  hands  to  a  work,  let 
the  fact  of  your  doing  so  constitute  the  evidence  that 
you  mean  to  prosecute  it  to  the  end.  They  that  fear 
an  overthrow  are  half  conquered. 

No  one  can  tell  who  the  heroes  are,  and  who  the 
cowards,  until  some  crisis  comes  to  put  us  to  the 
test.  And  no  crisis  puts  us  to  the  test  that  does  not 
bring  us  up,  alone  and  single-handed,  to  face  danger. 
It  is  comparatively  nothing  to  make  a  rush  with  the 
multitude,  even  into  the  jaws  of  destruction.  Sheep 
will  do  that.  Armies  can  be  picked  from  the  gutters, 
and  marched  up  as  food  for  powder.  But  when  some 
crisis  singles  one  out  from  the  multitude,  pointing  at 
him  the  particular  finger  of  fate,  and  telling  him, 
"  Stand  or  run,"  and  he  faces  about  with  steady 
nerve,  with  nobody  else  to  stand  behind,  we  may  be 
sure  the  hero  stuff  is  in  him.  When  such  crises 
come,  the  true  courage  is  just  as  likely  to  be  found 


272  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

in  people  of  shrinking  nerves,  or  in  weak  and  timid 
women,  as  in  great,  burly  people.  It  is  a  moral,  not 
a  physical  trait.  Its  seat  is  not  in  the  temperament, 
but  the  will. 

Some  people  imagine  that  courage  is  confined  to 
the  field  of  battle.  There  could  be  no  greater  mis 
take.  Even  contentious  men — unavoidably  conten- 
tious— are  not  by  any  means  limited  to  the  battle- 
field. And  there  are  other  struggles  with  adverse 
circumstances — struggles,  it  may  be,  with  habits  or 
appetites  or  passions — all  of  which  require  as  much 
courage  and  more  perseverance  than  the  brief  en- 
counter of  battle.  Enough  to  contend  with,  enough 
to  overcome,  lies  in  the  pathway  of  every  individual. 
It  may  be  one  kind  of  difficulties,  or  it  may  be  an- 
other, but  plenty  of  difficulties  of  some  kind  or  other 
every  one  may  be  sure  of  finding  through  life.  There 
is  but  one  way  of  looking  at  fate,  whatever  that  may 
be,  whether  blessings  or  afflictions, — to  behave  with 
dignity  under  both.  We  must  not  lose  heart,  or  it 
will  be  the  worse  both  for  ourselves  and  for  those 
whom  we  love.  To  struggle,  and  again  and  again  to 
renew  the  conflict, — this  is  life's  inheritance.  He 
who  never  falters,  no  matter  how  adverse  may  be  the 
circumstances,  always  enjoys  the  consciousness  of  a 
perpetual  spiritual  triumph,  of  which  nothing  can 
deprive  him. 

Though  the  occasions  of  high  heroic  daring  sel- 
dom occur  but  in  the  history  of  the  great,  the  less 
obtrusive  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of  private 
energy  are  continually  offering  themselves.  With 


COURAGE.  273 

these  domestic  scenes  as  much  abound  as  does  the 
tented  field.  Pain  may  be  as  firmly  endured  in  the 
lonely  chamber  as  amid  the  din  of  arms.  Difficulties 
can  be  manfully  combated,  misfortune  bravely  sus- 
tained, poverty  nobly  supported,  disappointments 
courageously  encountered.  Thus  courage  diffuses  a 
wide  and  succoring  influence,  and  bestows  energy 
apportioned  to  the  trial.  It  takes  from  calamity  its 
dejecting  quality,  and  enables  the  soul  to  possess 
itself  under  every  vicissitude.  It  rescues  the  unhappy 
from  degradation  and  the  feeble  from  contempt. 

The  greater  part  of  the  courage  that  is  needed 
in  the  world  is  not  of  an  heroic  kind.  There  needs 
the  common  courage  to  be  honest,  the  courage  to 
resist  temptation,  the  courage  to  speak  the  truth, 
the  courage  to  be  what  we  really  are,  and  not  to 
pretend  to  be  what  we  are  not,  the  courage  to  live 
honestly  within  our  own  means,  and  not  dishonestly 
upon  the  means  of  others.  The  courage  that  dares 
to  display  itself  in  silent  effort  and  endeavor,  that 
dares  to  endure  all  and  suffer  all  for  truth  and  duty, 
is  more  truly  heroic  than  the  achievements  of  physi- 
cal valor,  which  are  rewarded  by  honors  and  titles, 
or  by  laurels,  sometimes  steeped  in  blood.  It  is 
moral  courage  that  characterizes  the  highest  order  of 
manhood  and  womanhood.  Intellectual  intrepidity  is 
one  of  the  vital  conditions  of  independence  and  self- 
reliance  of  character.  A  man  must  have  the  courage 
to  be  himself,  and  not  the  shadow  or  the  echo  of 
another.  He  must  exercise  his  own  powers,  think 

his   own    thoughts,    and    speak   his    own   sentiments. 
18 


274  GOLDEX  GEMS  OP  LIFE. 

He  must  elaborate  his  own  opinions,  and  form  his 
own  convictions. 

It  has  been  said  that  he  who  dares  not  form  an 
opinion  must  be  a  coward  ;  he  who  will  not  must  be 
an  idler ;  he  who  can  not  must  be  a  fool.  Every 
'enlargement  of  the  domain  of  knowledge  which  has 
made  us  better  acquainted  with  the  heavens,  with  the 
earth,  and  with  ourselves,  has  been  established  by 
the  energy,  the  devotion,  the  self-sacrifice,  and  the 
courage  of  the  great  spirits  of  past  times,  who,  how- 
ever much  they  may  have  been  oppressed  or  reviled 
by  their  contemporaries,  now  rank  among  those  whom 
the  enlightened  of  the  human  race  most  delight  to 
honor. 

The  passive  endurance  of  the  man  or  woman  who 
for  conscience'  sake  is  found  ready  to  suffer  and  en- 
dure in  solitude,  without  so  much  as  the  encourage' 
ment  of  even  a  single  sympathizing  voice,  is  an 
exhibition  of  courage  of  a  far  higher  kind  than  that 
displayed  in  the  roar  of  battle,  where  even  the  weak- 
est feels  encouraged  and  inspired  by  the  enthusiasm 
of  sympathy  and  the  power  of  numbers.  Time  would 
fail  to  tell  of  the  names  of  those  who  through  faith 
in  principles,  and  in  the  face  of  difficulties,  dangers; 
and  sufferings,  have  fought  a  good  fight  in  the  moral 
warfare  of  the  world,  and  been  content  to  lay  down 
their  lives  rather  than  prove  false  to  their  conscien- 
tious convictions  of  the  truth. 

The  patriot  who  fights  an  always  losing  battle, 
the  martyr  who  goes  to  death  amid  the  triumphant 
shouts  of  his  enemies,  the  discoverer,  like  Columbus, 


CHARITY.  275 

wftose  heart  remains  undaunted  through  years  of 
failure,  are  examples  of  the  moral  sublime  which  ex- 
cites a  profounder  interest  in  the  hearts  of  men  than 
even  the  most  complete  and  conspicuous  success. 
By  the  side  of  such  instances  as  these,  how  small  by 
comparison  seem  the  greatest  deeds  of  valor,  inciting 
men  to  rush  upon  death  and  die  amid  the  frenzied 
excitement  of  physical  warfare. 


"The  primal  duties  shine  aloft  like  stars, 
The  charities  that  soothe  and  heal  and  bless 
Lie  scattered  at  the  feet  of  man  like  flowers." 

— WORDSWORTH. 

[HARITY,  like  the  dew  from  heaven,  falls  gently 
on  the  drooping  -flowers  in  the  stillness  of  night. 
fir*    Its   refreshing   and    revivifying  effects    are    felt, 
seen,  and  admired.     It  flows  from  a  good  heart 
arid  looks  beyond  the  skies  for  approval  and  reward. 
It   never  opens,  but   seeks  to   heal,   the  wounds  in- 
flicted   by   misfortune.      It    never    harrows    up,    but 
strives  to  calm,  the  troubled  mind. 

Charity  is  another  name  for  disinterested  love — 
the  humane,  sympathetic  feeling — that  which  seeks 
the  good  of  others ;  that  which  would  pour  out  from 
the  treasures  of  its  munificence  gifts  of  good  things 
upon  all.  It  is  that  feeling  that  gave  the  world  a 
Howard,  a  Fenelon,  a  Fry.  It  is  that  feeling  that 
leads  on  the  reformer,  which  inspires  the  philanthro- 


276  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

pists,  which  blesses,  and  curses  not.  It  is  the  good 
Samaritan  of  the  heart.  It  is  that  which  thinketh  nc 
evil,  and  is  kind,  which  hopeth  all  things,  believeth 
all  things,  endureth  all  things.  It  is  the  angel  of 
mercy,  which  forgives  seventy  and  seven  times,  and 
still  is  rich  in  the  treasures  of  pardon.  It  visits  the 
sick,  soothes  the  pillow  of  the  dying,  drops  a  tear 
with  the  mourner,  buries  the  dead,  cares  for  the  or- 
phan. It  delights  to  do  offices  of  good  to  those 
cast  down,  to  relieve  the  suffering  of  the  oppressed 
and  distressed,  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  to  the  poor. 
Its  words  are  more  precious  than  rubies ;  its  voice  is 
sweeter  than  honey ;  its  hand  is  softer  than  clown  ; 
its  step  as  gentle  as  love. 

Whoever  would  be  respected  and  beloved;  who- 
ever would  be  useful  and  remembered  with  pleasure 
when  life  is  over,  must  cherish  this  virtue.  Whoever 
would  be  truly  happy  and  feel  the  real  charms  of 
goodness  must  cultivate  this  affection.  It  becomes, 
if  possible,  more  glorious  when  we  consider  the 
number  and  extent  of  its  objects.  It  is  as  wide  as 
the  world  of  suffering,  deep  as  the  heart  of  sorrow, 
extensive  as  the  wants  of  creation,  and  boundless  as 
the  kingdom  of  need.  Its  spirit  is  the  messenger 
of  peace,  holding  out  to  quarreling  humanity  the  flag 
of  truce.  It  is  needed  every-where,  in  all  times  and 
places,  in  all  trades,  professions,  and  callings  of  profit 
or  honor  which  men  can  pursue.  In  the  home  life 
there  is  too  often  a  lack  of  charity ;  it  should  be 
considered  as  a  sacred  duty  to  long  and  well  culti- 
vate it,  to  exercise  it  daily,  and  to  guard  well  its 


CHARITY.  277 

growth.  The  peace  and  happiness  of  the  world  de- 
pends greatly  upon  it.  Nothing  gives  a  sweeter 
charm  to  youth  than  an  active  charity,  a  disposition 
.kind  to  all.  Who  can  properly  estimate  the  powers 
and  sweetness  of  an  active  charity? 

He  who  carries  ever  with  him  the  spirit  of  bound- 
less charity  to  man  often  does  good  when  he  knows 
not  of  it.  An  influence  seems  to  go  forth  from  him 
which  soothes  the  distressed,  encourages  the  droop- 
ing, stimulates  afresh  the  love  of  virtue,  and  begets 
its  own  image  and  likeness  in  all  beholders.  With- 
out the  exercise  of  this  grace  it  is  impossible  to  make 
domestic  and  social  life  delightful.  Deeds  and  words 
of  conventional  courtesy  grown  familiar  are  compara- 
tively empty  forms.  The  charitable  soul  carries  with 
it  a  charmed  atmosphere  of  peace  and  love,  breath- 
ing which  all  who  come  within  its  benign  influence 
unfold  their  noblest  qualities,  and  develop  their  most 
amiable  traits.  Inharmonious  influences  are  neutral- 
ized, the  harsh  discipline  of  life  is  changed  to  whole- 
some training,  the  crooked  places  are  made  straight, 
and  the  rough  smooth. 

The  uncharitable  and  censorious  are  generally 
found  among  the  narrow  and  bigoted,  and  those 
who  have  never  read  the  full  page  of  their  own 
heart  or  been  subject  to  various  and  crucial  tests. 
How  can  a  man  whose  temper  is  phlegmatic  judge 
justly  of  him  whose  blood  is  fiery,  whose  nature  is 
tropical,  and  whose  passions  mount  in  an  instant, 
and  as  quickly  subside  ?  How  can  one  in  the  seclu- 
sion of  private  life  accurately  measure  the  force  of 


278  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

the  influence  those  are  subjected  to  who  live  and  act 
in  the  center  of  vast  and  powerful  civil  and  social 
circles  ?  The  more  you  mix  with  men  the  less  you 
will  be  disposed  to  quarrel,  and  the  more  charitable 
and  liberal  will  you  become.  The  fact  that  you'dc 
not  understand  another  is  quite  as  likely  to  be  your 
fault  as  his.  There  are  many  chances  in  favor  of 
the  conclusion  that  when  you  fee!  a  lack  of  charitable 
feeling  it  is  through  your  own  ignorance  and  illiber- 
ality.  This  will  disappear  as  your  knowledge  of  men 
grows  more  and  more  complete.  Hence  keep  your 
heart  open  for  every  body,  and  be  sure  that  you  shall 
have  your  reward.  You  will  find  a  jewel  under  the 
most  uncouth  exterior,  and  associated  with  comeliest 
manners  and  the  oddest  ways  and  the  ugliest  faces 
you  will  find  rare  virtues,  fragrant  little  humanities, 
and  inspiring  heroisms. 

How  glorious  the  thought  of  the  universal  tri- 
umph of  charity!  How  grand  and  comprehensive 
the  theme!  The  subject  commands  the  profound 
attention  of  good  men  and  of  angels.  Under  the 
direful  influence  of  its  antagonistic  principle  man 
has  trampled  upon  the  rights  of  fellow-man,  and 
waded  through  rivers  of  human  blood,  to  satisfy 
his  thirst  for  vengeance.  Its  footsteps  have  been 
marked  with  the  blood  of  slaughtered  millions.  Its 
power  has  shivered  kingdoms  and  destroyed  empires. 
When  men  shall  be  brought  into  subjection  to  the 
law  of  charity  the  angel  of  peace  will  take  up  its 
abode  with  the  children  of  men.  Wars  and  rumors 
of  wars  will  cease.  Envy  and  revenge  will  hide  their 


CHARITY.  279 

diminished  heads.  Falsehood  and  slander  will  Le  un- 
known. Sectarian  walls  will  crumble  to  dust.  Then 
this  world  will  be  transformed  into  a  paradise,  in 
which  every  thing  that  is  beautiful  and  lovely  shall 
grow  and  bloom.  Disinterested  and  benevolent  acts, 
will  abound.  Sorrow  and  disappointments  will  flee 
away,  and  peace,  sunshine,  and  joy  will  beautify  and 
adorn  life. 

Death  always  makes  a  beautiful  appeal  to  charity. 
When  we  look  upon  the  dead  form,  so  composed  and 
still,  the  kindness  and  the  love  that  are  in  us  all  come 
forth.  The  grave  covers  every  error,  buries  every 
defect,  extinguishes  every  resentment.  From  its 
peaceful  bosom  spring  none  but  fond  regrets  and 
tender  recollections.  Who  can  look  upon  the  grave 
even  of  an  enemy  and  not  feel  a  compunctious  throb 
that  he  should  ever  have  warred  with  the  poor  hand- 
ful of  dust  that  lies  moldering  before  him? 

Charity  stowed  away  in  the  heart,  like  rose  leaves 
in  a  drawer,  sweetens  all  the  daily  acts  of  life.  Little 
drops  of  rain  brighten  the  meadow ;  acts  of  charity 
brighten  the  world.  We  can  conceive  of  nothing 
more  attractive  than  the  heart  when  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  charity.  Certainly  nothing  so  embellishes 
human  nature  as  the  practice  of  this  virtue ;  a  sen- 
timent so  genial  and  so  excellent  ought  to  be  em- 
blazoned upon  every  thought  and  act  of  our  life. 
This  principle  underlies  the  whole  theory  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  in  no  other  person  do  we  find  it  more 
happily  exemplified  than  in  the  life  of  our  Savior, 
who,  while  on  earth,  "went  about  doing  good." 


280  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


INDNESS  is  the  music  of  good-will  to  men,  and 
on  this  harp  the  smallest  fingers  in  the  work 
may  play  heaven's  sweetest  tunes  on  earth 
Kindness  is  one  of  the  purest  traits  that  find  a 
place  in  the  human  heart.  It  gives  us  friends  wher- 
ever we  may  chance  to  wander.  Whether  we  dwell 
with  the  savage  tribes  of  the  forest  or  with  civ- 
ilized races,  kindness  is  a  language  understood  by 
the  former  as  well  as  the  latter.  Its  influence  never 
ceases.  Started  once,  it  flows  onward  like  the  little 
mountain  rivulet  in  a  pure  and  increasing  stream. 
To  show  kindness  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  large 
•  sums  of  money,  or  to  perform  some  wonderful  deed 
that  will  immortalize  your  name.  It  is  the  tear 
dropped  with  the  mother  as  she  weeps  over  the  bier 
of  her  departed  child  ;  it  is  the  word  of  sympathy  to 
the  discouraged  and  the  disheartened,  the  cup  of 
cold  water  and  the  slice  of  bread  to  the  hungry  one. 
Kindness  makes  sunshine  wherever  it  goes.  It 
finds  it  way  into  the  hidden  chambers  of  the  heart, 
and  brings  forth  golden  treasures,  which  harshness 
would  have  sealed  up  forever.  Kindness  makes  the 
mother's  lullaby  sweeter  than  the  song  of  the  lark, 
and  renders  the  care-worn  brow  of  the  father  and 
man  of  business  less  severe  in  its  expression.  It  is 
the  water  of  Lethe  to  the  laborer,  who  straightway 
forgets  his  weariness  born  of  the  burden  and  heat  of 
the  day.  Kindness  is  the  real  law  of  life,  the  link 


KIXDNESS.  281 

that  connects  earth  with  heaven,  the  true  philoso- 
pher's stone,  for  all  it  touches  it  turns  into  virgin 
gold;  the  true  gold,  wherewith  we  purchase  content- 
ment, peace,  and  love.  Would  you  live  in  the  re- 
membrance of  others  after  you  shall  have  passed 
away  ?  Write  your  name  on  the  tablets  of  their 
hearts  by  acts  of  kindness,  love,  and  mercy. 

Kindness  is  an  emotion  of  which  we  ought  never 
to  feel  ashamed.  Graceful,  especially  in  youth,  is  the 
tear  of  sympathy  and  the  heart  that  melts  at  the  tale 
of  woe.  We  should  not  permit  ease  and  indulgence 
to  contract  our  affection,  and  wrap  us  up  in  a  selfish 
enjoyment ;  but  we  should  accustom  ourselves  to 
think  of  the  distresses  of  human  life  and  how  to 
relieve  them.  Think  ot  the  solitary  cottage,  the 
dying  parent,  and  the  weeping  child.  A  tender- 
hearted and  compassionate  disposition,  which  inclines 
men  to  pity  and  to  feel  the  misfortunes  of  others  as 
its  own,  is  of  all  dispositions  the  most  amiable,  and 
though  it  may  not  receive  much  honor,  is  worthy  of 
the  highest.  Kindness  is  the  very  principle  of  love,  an 
emanation  of  the  heart,  which  softens  and  gladdens, 
and  should  be  inculcated  and  encouraged  in  all  our 
intercourse  with  our  fellow  beings. 

Kindness  does  not  consist  in  gifts,  but  in  gentle- 
ness and  generosity  of  spirit.  Men  may  give  their 
money,  which  comes  from  their  purse,  and  withhold 
their  kindness,  which  comes  from  the  heart.  The 
kindness  which  displays  itself  in  giving  money  does 
not  amount  to  much,  and  often  does  quite  as  much 
harm  as  good ;  but  the  kindness  of  true  sympathy,  of 


282  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

thoughtful  help,  is  never  without  beneficent  results. 
The  good  temper  that  displays  itself  in  kindness  must 
not  be  confounded  with  passive  goodness.  It  is  not 
by  any  means  indifferent,  but  largely  sympathetic. 
It  does  not  characterize  the  lowest,  but  the  highest 
classes  of  society. 

True  kindness  cherishes  and  actively  promotes  all 
reasonable  instrumentalities  for  doing  practical  good 
in  its  own  time,  and,  looking  into  futurity,  sees  the 
same  spirit  working  on  for  the  eventual  elevation 
and  happiness  of  the  race.  It  is  the  kindly  disposed 
men  who  are  the  active  men  of  the  world,  while  the 
selfish  and  the  skeptical,  who  have  no  love  but  for 
themselves,  are  its  idlers.  How  easy  it  is  for  one 
benevolent  being  to  diffuse  pleasure  around  him,  and 
how  truly  is  one  fond  heart  a  fountain  of  gladness, 
making  every  thing  in  its  vicinity  to  freshen  into 
smiles.  Its  effect  on  stern  natures  is  like  the  Spring 
rain,  which  melts  the  icy  covering  of  the  earth,  and 
causes  it  to  open  to  the  beams  of  heaven. 

In  the  intercourse  of  social  life  it  is  by  little  acts 
of  watchful  kindness  recurring  daily  and  hourly — and 
opportunities  of  doing  kindness  if  sought  for  are 
constantly  starting  up^-it  is  by  words,  by  tones,  by 
gestures,  by  looks  that  affection  is  won  and  pre- 
served. He  who  neglects  these  trifles,  yet  boasts 
that,  whenever  a  great  sacrifice  is  called  for,  he  shall 
be  ready  to  make  it,  will  rarely  be  loved.  The  like- 
lihood is  he  will  not  make  it,  and  if  he  does,  it  will 
be  much  rather  for  his  own  sake  than  for  his  neigh- 
bor's. Life  is  made  up,  not  of  great  sacrifices  or 


KINDNESS.  283 

duties,  but  of  little  things,  in  which  smiles  and  kind- 
ness and  small  obligations,  given  habitually,  are  what 
win  and  preserve  the  heart  and  secure  comfort.  The 
little  unremembered  acts  of  kindness  and  of  love  are 
the  best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life.  Those  little 
nameless  acts  which  manifest  themselves  by  tender 
and  affectionate  looks  and  little  kind  acts  of  attention 
do  much  to  increase  the  happiness  of  life. 

Little  kindnesses  are  great  ones.  They  drive 
away  sadness,  and  cheer  up  the  soul  beyond  all 
common  appreciation.  They  are  centers  of  influence 
over  others,  which  may  accomplish  much  good. 
When  such  kindnesses  are  administered  in  times  of 
need,  they  are  like  "  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of 
silver,"  and  will  be  long  remembered.  A  word  of 
kindness  in  a  desperate  strait  is  as  welcome  as  the 
smile  of  an  angel,  and  a  helpful  hand-grasp  is  worth 
a  hundred-fold  its  cost,  for  it  may  have  rescued  for 
all  future  the  most  kingly  thing  on  earth — the  man- 
hood of  a  man. 

It  should  not  discourage  us  if  our  kindness  is 
unacknowledged  ;  it  has  its  influence  still.  Good  and 
worthy  conduct  may  meet  with  an  unworthy  or  un- 
grateful return  ;  but  the  absence  of  gratitude  on  the 
part  of  the  receiver  can  not  destroy  the  self-appro- 
bation which  recompenses  the  giver.  The  seeds  of 
courtesy  and  kindness  may  be  scattered  around  with 
so  little  trouble  and  expense  that  it  seems  strange 
that  more  do  not  endeavor  to  spread  them  abroad. 
Could  they  but  know  the  inward  peace  which  re- 
quites the  giver  for  a  kindly  act,  even  though  coldly 


284  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

received  by  the  one  to  be  benefited,  they  would  not 
hesitate  to  let  the  kindly  feelings,  latent  in  us  all, 
have  free  expression.  Kindly  efforts  are  not  lost. 
Some  of  them  will  inevitably  fall  on  good  ground,  and 
nrr0w  up  into  benevolence  in  the  minds  of  others,  and 
all  of  them  will  bear  fruit  of  happiness  in  the  bosom 
whence  they  spring.  It  is  better  never  to  receive  a 
kindness  than  not  to  bestow  one.  Not  to  return  a 
benefit  is  the  greater  sin,  but  not  to  confer  it  is  the 
earlier. 

The  noblest  revenge  we  can  take  upon  our  ene- 
mies is  to  do  them  a  kindness.  To  return  malice  for 
malice  and  injury  for  injury  will  afford  but  a  tempo- 
rary gratification  to  our  evil  passions,  and  our  ene- 
mies will  only  be  rendered  more  and  more  bitter 
against  us.  But  to  take  the  first  opportunity  of 
showing  how  superior  we  are  to  them  by  doing  them 
a  kindness,  or  by  rendering  them  a  service,  is  not 
only  the  nobler  way,  but  the  sting  of  reproach  will 
enter  deeply  into  their  souls,  and  while  unto  us  it 
will  be  a  noble  retaliation,  our  triumph  will  not  unfre- 
quently  be  rendered  complete,  not  only  by  beating 
out  the  malice  that  had  otherwise  stood  against  us, 
but  by  bringing  repentant  hearts  to  offer  themselves 
at  the  shrine  of  friendship.  A  more  glorious  victory 
can  not  be  gained  over  another  man  than  this,  that 
when  the  injury  began  on  his  part  the  kindness 
should  begin  on  ours. 

The  tongue  of  kindness  is  full  of  pity,  love,  and 
comfort.  It  speaks  a  word  of  comfort  to  the  de- 
sponding, a  word  of  encouragement  to  the  faint- 


KINDNESS.  285 

hearted,  of  sympathy  to  the  bereaved,  of  consolation 
to  the  dying.  Urged  on  by  a  benevolent  heart,  it 
loves  to  cheer,  console,  and  invigorate  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  sorrow.  Kind  words  do  not  cost  much. 
They  never  blister  the  tongue  or  lips,  and  no  mental 
trouble  ever  arises  therefrom.  Be  not  saving  of  kind 
words  and  pleasing  acts  ;  for  such  are  fragrant  gifts, 
whose  perfume  will  gladden  the  heart  and  sweeten 
the  life  of  all  who  hear  or  receive  them.  Words  of 
kindness  fitly  spoken  are  indeed  both  precious  and 
beautiful ;  they  are  worth  much  and  cost  little. 

Kind  words  are  like  the  breath  of  the  dew  upon 
the  tender  plants,  falling  gently  upon  the  drooping 
heart,  refreshing  its  withered  tendrils,  and  soothing 
its  woes.  Bright  oases  are  they  in  life's  great  desert. 
Who  can  estimate  the  pangs  they  have  alleviated, 
or  the  good  works  they  have  accomplished  ?  Long 
after  they  are  uttered  do  they  reverberate  in  the 
soul's  inner  chamber,  and,  like  low,  sweet  strains  of 
music,  they  serve  to  quell  the  memory  of  bitterness 
or  of  personal  wrong,  to  lead  the  heart  to  the  sunnier 
paths  of  life.  And  when  the  heart  is  sad,  and,  like  a 
broken  harp,  the  chords  of  pleasure  cease  to  vibrate, 
how  peculiarly  acceptable  then  are  kind  words  from 
others ! 

Who  can  rightly  estimate  the  ultimate  effect  of 
one  kind  word  fitly  spoken  ?  One  little  word  of  ten- 
derness gushing  in  upon  the  soul  will  sweep  long- 
neglected  chords  and  awaken  the  most  pleasant 
strains.  Kind  words  are  like  jewels  in  the  heart, 
never  to  be  forgotten,  but  perhaps  to  cheer  by  their 


286  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

memory  a  long,  sad  life,  while  words  of  cruelty  are 
like  darts  in  the  bosom,  wounding  and  leaving  scars 
that  will  be  borne  to  the  grave  by  their  victim. 
Speak  kindly  in  the  morning ;  it  lightens  all  the  cares 
of  the  day,  and  makes  the  household  and  other  affairs 
move  along  more  smoothly.  Speak  kindly  at  night ; 
for  it  may  be  that  before  dawn  some  loved  one  may 
finish  his  or  her  space  of  life,  and  it  will  be  too  late 
to  ask  forgiveness.  Speak  kindly  at  all  times  ;  it  en- 
courages the  downcast,  cheers  the  sorrowing,  and 
very  likely  awakens  the  erring  to  earnest  resolves  to 
do  better,  with  strength  to  keep  them.  Always  leave 
home  with  kind  words  ;  for  they  may  be  the  last. 
Kind  words  are  the  bright  flowers  of  earthly  exist- 
ence ;  use  them,  and  especially  around  the  fireside 
circle.  They  are  jewels  beyond  price,  and  powerful 
to  heal-the  wounded  heart,  and  make  the  weighed- 
down  spirit  glad. 


^OING  good  is  the  only  certain  happy  action  of 
a  man's  life.  The  very  consciousness  of  well- 
doing is  in  itself  ample  reward  for  the  trouble 
we  have  been  put  to.  The  enjoyment  of  be- 
nevolent acts  grows  upon  reflection.  Experience 
teaches  this  so  truly,  that  never  did  any  soul  do  good 
but  he  came  readier  to  do  the  same  again  with  more 
enjoyment.  Never  was  love  or  gratitude  or  bounty 


BENEVOLENCE.  287 

practiced  but  with  increasing  joy,  which  made  the 
practicer  more  in  love  with  the  fair  act. 

If  there  be  a  pleasure  on  earth  which  angels  can 
not  enjoy,  and  which  they  might  almost  envy  man  the 
possession  of,  it  is  the  power  of  relieving  distress. 
If  there  be  a  pain  which  devils  might  almost  pity  man 
for  enduring,  it  is  the  death-bed  reflection  that  we 
have  possessed  the  power  of  doing  good,  but  that  we 
have  abused  and  perverted  it  to  purposed  ill.  He 
who  has  never  denied  himself  for  the  sake  of  giving 
has  but  glanced  at  the  joys  of  benevolence.  We 
owe  our  superfluity,  and  to  be  happy  in  the  perform- 
ance of  our  duty  we  must  exceed  it.  The  joy  result- 
ing from  the  diffusion  of  blessings  to  all  around  us  is 
the  purest  and  sublimest  that  can  ever  enter  the  hu- 
man mind,  and  can  be  understood  only  by  those  who 
have  experienced  it.  Next  to  the  consolation  of 
divine  grace  it  is  the  most  sovereign  balm  to  the 
miseries  of  life,  both  in  him  who  is  the  object  of  it, 
and  in  him  who  exercises  it. 

In  all  other  human  gifts  and  possessions,  though 
they  advance  nature,  yet  they  are  subject  to  excess. 
For  so  we  see,  that  by  aspiring  to  be  like  God  in 
power,  the  angels  transgressed  and  fell ;  by  aspiring 
to  be  like  God  in  knowledge  man  transgressed  and 
fell ;  but  by  aspiring  to  be  like  God  in  goodness  or 
love  neither  man  nor  angels  ever  did  or  shall  trans- 
gress, for  unto  that  imitation  we  are  called.  A  life 
of  p  .ssionate  gratification  is  not  to  be  compared  with  a 
life  of  active  benevolence.  God  has  so  constituted  our 
natures  that  a  man  can  not  be  happy  unless  he  is  or 


288  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

thinks  he  is  a  means  of  doing  good.  We  can  not 
conceive  of  a  picture  of  more  unutterable  wretched- 
ness than  is  furnished  by  one  who  knows  that  he  is 
wholly  useless  in  the  world. 

A  man  or  woman  without  benevolence  is  not  a 
perfect  being  ;  they  are  only  a  deformed  personality 
of  true  manhood  or  womanhood.  In  every  heart 
there  are  many  tendencies  to  selfishness  ;  but  the 
spirit  of  benevolence  counteracts  them  all.  In  a 
world  like  this,  where  we  are  all  so  needy  and  de- 
pendent, where  our  interests  are  so  interlocked,  where 
our  lives  and  hearts  overlap  each  other  and  often  grow 
together,  we  can  not  live  without  a  good  degree  of 
benevolence.  We  do  most  for  ourselves  when  we  do 
most  for  others  ;  hence  our  highest  interests,  even 
from  a  purely  selfish  point  of  view,  are  in  the  paths 
of  benevolence.  And  in  a  moral  sense  we  know 
"that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 
Good  deeds  double  in  the  doing,  and  the  larger  half 
comes  back  to  the  donor.  A  large  heart  of  charity 
is  a  noble  thing,  and  the  most  benevolent  soul  lives 
nearest  to  God.  Selfishness  is  the  root  of  evil ;  be- 
nevolence is  its  cure.  In  no  heart  is  benevolence  more 
beautiful  than  in  youth  ;  in  no  heart  is  selfishness 
more  ugly.  To  do  good  is  noble ;  to  be  good  is  more 
noble.  This  should  be  the  aim  of  all  the  young.  The 
poor  and  the  needy  should  occupy  a  large  place  in 
their  hearts.  The  sick  and  suffering  should  claim 
their  attention.  The  sinful  and  criminal  should 
awaken  their  deepest  pity.  The  oppressed  and  down- 
trodden should  find  a  large  place  in  their  compassion. 


BENEVOLENCE.  289 

Woman  appears  in  her  best  estate  in  the  exercise 
CM  benevolent  deeds.  How  sweet  are  her  soothing 
w^rds  to  the  disconsolate !  How  consoling  her  tears 
of  sympathy  to  the  mourning !  How  fresh  her  spirit 
of  hope  to  the  discouraged  !  How  balmy  the  breath 
of  her  love  to  the  oppressed!  Man,  too,  appears  in 
his  best  light  and  grandest  aspect  when  he  appears  as 
the  practical  follower  of  Him  who  went  about  doing 
good.  He  who  does  these  works  of  practical  benevo- 
lence is  educating  his  moral  powers  in  the  school  of 
earnest  and  glorious  life.  He  is  laying  the  founda- 
tion for  a  noble  and  useful  career.  He  is  planting  the 
seeds  of  a  charity  that  will  grow  to  bless  and  save 
the  sufferings  of  our  fellow-men. 

Liberality  consists  less  in  giving  profusely  than 
in  giving  judiciously,  for  there  is  nothing  that  re- 
quires so  strict  an  economy  as  our  benevolence. 
Liberality,  if  spread  over  too  large  a  surface,  pro- 
duces no  crop.  If  over  one  too  small  it  exuberates 
in  rankness  and  in  weeds.  And  yet  it  requires  care 
to  avoid  the  other  extreme.  It  is  better  to  be  some- 
times mistaken  than  not  to  exercise  charity  at  alL 
Though  we  may  chance  sometimes  to  bestow  our 
beneficence  on  the  unworthy  it  does  not  take  from 
the  merit  of  the  act.  It  is  not  the  true  spirit  of 
charity  which  is  ever  rigid  and  circumspect,  and 
which  always  mistrusts  the  truth  of  the  necessities 
laid  open  to  it.  Be  not  frightened  at  the  hard  word, 
"impostor."  "Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters." 
Some  have  unawares  entertained  angels. 

A   man   should   fear   when   he   enjoys   only  what 
19 


290  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

good  he  does  publicly,  lest  it  should  prove  to  be 
the  publicity  rather  than  the  charity  that  he  loves. 
We  have  more  confidence  in  that  benevolence  which 
begins  in  the  home  and  diverges  into  a  large  human- 
ity than  in  the  world-wide  philanthropy  which  begins 
at  the  outside  and  converges  into  egotism.  A  man 
should,  indeed,  have  a  generous  feeling  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  whole  world,  and  should  live  in  the  world 
as  a  citizen  of  the  world.  But  he  may  have  a  pref- 
erence for  that  particular  part  in  which  he  lives. 
Charity  begins  at  home,  but  it  may  and  ought  to  go 
abroad;  still  we  have,  no  respect  for  self-boasting 
charity  which  neglects  all  objects  of  commiseration 
near  and  around  it,  but  goes  to  the  end  of  the 
world  in  search  of  misery  for  the  sake  of  talking 
about  it. 

Generosity  during  life  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  generosity  in  the  hour  of  death.  One  proceeds 
from  genuine  liberality  and  benevolence ;  the  other 
from  pride  or  fear.  He  that  will  not  permit  his 
wealth  to  do  any  good  to  others  while  he  is  living 
prevents  it  from  doing  any  good  to  himself  when  he 
is  gone.  By  an  egotism  that  is  suicidal  and  has  a 
double  edge  he  cuts  himself  off  from  the  truest 
pleasures  here,  and  the  highest  pleasures  hereafter. 
To  pass  a  whole  life-time  without  performing  a  single 
generous  action  till  the  dying  hour,  when  death  un- 
locks the  grasp  upon  earthly  possessions,  is  to  live 
like  the  Talipat  palm-tree  of  the  East,  which  blossoms 
not  till  the  last  year  of  its  life.  It  then  suddenly 
bursts  into  a  mass  of  flowers,  but  emits  such  an 


BENEVOLENCE.  291 

odor  that  the  tree  is  frequently  cut  down  to  be  rid 
of  it.  Even  such  is  the  life  of  those  who  postpone 
their  munificence  until  the  close  of  their  days,  when 
they  exhibit  a  late  efflorescence  of  generosity,  which 
lacks  the  sweet-smelling  perfume  which  good  deeds 
should  possess.  And  when  it  appears,  like  the  Tal- 
ipat  flower,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  death  is  at  hand. 
They  surrender  every  thing  when  they  see  they  can 
not  continue  to  keep  possession,  and  are  at  last  liberal 
when  they  can  no  longer  be  parsimonious.  The  truly 
generous  man  does  not  wish  to  leave  enough  to  build 
an  imposing  monument,  since  there  is  so  much  sor- 
row and  suffering  to  be  alleviated.  They  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  what  they  give  by  giving  it  when  alive 
and  seeing  others  benefited  thereby. 

A  conqueror  is  regarded  with  awe,  the  wise  man 
commands  our  esteem,  but  it  is  the  benevolent  man 
who  wins  our  affection.  A  beneficent  person  is  like 
a  fountain  watering  the  earth  and  spreading  fertility ; 
it  is,  therefore,  more  delightful  and  more  honorable 
to  give  than  to  receive.  The  last,  best  fruit  which 
comes  to  late  perfection,  even  in  the  kindliest  soul, 
is  tenderness  towards  the  hard,  forbearance  towards 
the  unforbearant,  warmth  of  heart  towards  the  cold, 
philanthropy  towards  the  misanthropic. 


292  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


^ERACITY,  or  the  habitual  observance  of  truth, 
is  a  bright  and  shining  quality  on  the  part  of 
any  one  who  strives  to  make  the  most  of  life's 
possibilities.     It  irradiates  all  of  his  surround- 
ings, making  plain  the  path  of  duty,  and  hence  the 
path  which  leads  to  the  most  enduring  success.     It  is 
the  bond  of  union  and  the  basis  of  human  happiness. 
Without   this  virtue,  there   is   no  reliance  upon  lan- 
guage,  no    confidence   in   friendship,    no   security   in 
promises  and  oaths. 

Truth  is  always  consistent  with  itself,  and  needs 
nothing  to  help  it  out.  It  is  always  near  at  hand, 
and  sits  upon  our  lips,  and  is  ready  to  drop  out  be- 
fore we  are  aware  ;  whereas  a  lie  is  troublesome,  and 
sets  a  man's  invention  upon  the  rack  ;  and  one  trick 
needs  many  more  to  make  it  good.  It  is  dangerous 
to  deviate  far  from  the  strict  rule  of  veracity,  even 
on  the  most  trifling  occasions.  However  guileless 
may  be  our  intentions,  the  habit,  if  indulged,  may 
take  root,  and  gain  on  us  under  the  cover  of  various 
pretenses,  till  it  usurps  a  leading  influence.  Nothing 
appears  so  low  and  mean  as  lying  and  dissimulation  ; 
and  it  is  observable  that  only  weak  animals  endeavor 
to  supply  by  craft  the  defects  of  strength  which 
nature  has  given  them.  Dissimulation  in  youth  is  the 
forernnnor  of  perfidy  in  old  age.  Its  first  appearance 
is  the  fatal  omen  of  growing  depravity  and  future 
shame.  It  degrades  parts  and  learning,  obscures 


VERACITY.  293 

the  luster  of  every  accomplishment,  and  sinks  us  into 
contempt. 

The  path  of  falsehood  is  a  perplexing  maze.  After 
the  first  departure  from  sincerity,  it  is  not  in  our 
power  to  stop.  One  artifice  unavoidably  leads  on  to 
another,  till,  as  the  intricacies  of  the  labyrinth  in- 
crease, we  are  left  entangled  in  our  snare.  False- 
hood is  difficult  to  be  maintained.  When  the  mate- 
rials of  a  building  are  solid  stone,  very  rude  architec- 
ture will  suffice  ;  but  a  structure  of  rotten  materials 
needs  the  mo.st  careful  adjustment  to  make  it  stand 
at  all.  The  love  of  truth  and  right  is  the  grand 
spring  source  of  integrity.  The  study  of  truth  is 
perpetually  joined  with  the  love  of  virtue.  For 
there  is  no  virtue  which  derives  not  its  original  from 
truth  ;  as,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  no  vice  which  has 
not  its  beginning  in  a  lie.  Truth  is  the  foundation 
of  all  knowledge  and  the  cement  of  all  society. 

Strict  veracity  requires  something  more  than 
merely  the  speaking  of  truth.  There  are  lying  looks 
as  well  as  lying  words  ;  dissembling  smiles,  deceiving 
signs,  and  even  a  lying  silence.  Not  to  intend  what 
you  speak  is  to  give  your  heart  the  lie  with  your 
tongue  ;  and  not  to  perform  what  you  promise  is  to 
give  your  tongue  the  lie  with  your  actions.  Decep- 
tion exhibits  itself  in  many  forms — in  reticency  on 
the  one  hand  or  exaggeration  on  the  other ;  in  dis- 
guise or  concealment  ;  in  pretended  concurrence  in 
others'  opinions  ;  in  assuming  an  attitude  of  conform- 
ity which  is  deceptive ;  in  making  promises,  or  in 
allowing  them  to  be  implied,  which  are  never  intended 


294  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

to  be  performed  ;  or  even  in  refraining  from  speaking 
the  truth  when  to  do  so  is  a  duty.  There  are  also 
those  who  are  all  things  to  all  men,  who  say  one 
thing  and  do  another.  But  those  who  are  essentially 
insincere  fail  to  evoke  confidence,  and,  in  the  end. 
discover  that  they  have  only  deceived  themselves 
while  thinking  they  were  deceiving  others. 

Lying  is  in  some  cases  the  offspring  of  perversity 
and  vice,  and  in  many  others  of  sheer  moral  coward- 
ice. Plutarch  calls  lying  the  vice  of  a  slave.  There 
is-  no  vice,  says  Lord  Bacon,  that  so  covers  a  man 
with  shame  as  to  be  found  false  and  perfidious. 
Every  lie,  great  or  small,  is  the  brink  of  a  precipice, 
the  depth  of  which  nothing  but  Omniscience  can 
fathom.  Denying  a  fault  always  doubles  it.  All 
that  a  man  can  get  by  lying  and  dissembling  is  that 
he  will  not  be  believed  when  he  speaks  the  truth.  A 
liar  is  subject  to  two  misfortunes,  neither  to  believe 
nor  to  be  believed.  If  falsehood,  says  Montaigne, 
like  truth,  had  but  one  face,  we  should  be  upon  bet- 
ter terms ;  for  we  should  then  take  the  contrary  of 
what  the  liar  says  for  certain  truth. 

We  are  not  called  upon  to  speak  all  that  we 
know ;  that  would  be  folly.  But  what  a  man  says 
should  be  what  he  thinks  ;  otherwise  it  is  knavery. 
No  wrong  is  ever  made  better,  but  always  worse,  by 
a  falsehood.  Even  when  detection  does  not  follow, 
suspicion  is  always  created.  Wrong  is  but  falsehood 
put  in  practice.  The  Chinese  have  a  proverb  which 
says,  "  A  lie  has  no  legs,  and  can  not  stand ;"  but  it 
has  wings  and  can  fly  far  and  wide.  You  never  can 


VERACITY.  295 

unite,  though  you  may  try  ever  so  hard,  the  antag- 
onistic elements  of  truth  and  falsehood.  The  man 
who  forgets  a  great  deal  that  has  happened  has  a 
better  memory  than  he  who  remembers  a  great  deal 
that  never  happened. 

After  all,  the  most  natural  beauty  in  the  world  is 
honesty  and  moral  truth ;  for  all  beauty  is  truth. 
True  features  make  the  beauty  of  a  face,  and  true 
proportions  the  beauty  of  architecture,  as  true  meas- 
ure that  of  harmony  and  music.  In  poetry,  truth 
still  is  the  perfection.  Fiction  must  be  governed  by 
truth,  and  can  only  please  by  its  resemblance  to 
truth.  The  appearance  of  reality  is  necessary  to 
agreeably  represent  any  passion,  and  to  be  able  to 
move  others  we  must  be  moved  ourselves,  or  at  least 
seem  to  be  so  upon  some  probable  ground.  False- 
hood itself  is  never  so  susceptible  as  when  she  baits 
her  hook  with  truth,  and  no  opinions  so  fatally  mis- 
lead us  as  those  that  are  not  wholly  wrong.  No 
watch  so  effectually  deceives  the  wearer  as  those 
that  are  sometimes  right. 

Such  are  the  imperfections  of  mankind  that  the 
duplicities,  the  temptations,  and  the  infirmities  that 
surround  us  have  rendered  the  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth,  as  hazardous  and  contraband  a  com- 
modity as  a  man  can  possibly  deal  in.  Colton  says 
that  "pure  truth,  like  pure  gold,  has  been  found 
unfit  for  circulation;"  and  another  has  said,  "It  is 
dangerous  to  follow  truth  too  near  lest  she  should 
kick  out  your  teeth."  The  trouble  consists  not  in 
obeying  the  behests  of  strict  veracity,  but  in  lack 


296  GOLDEX  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  prudence  and  ordinary  caution.  While  all  we  tell 
should  be  the  truth,  it  is  not  always  necessary  to 
tell  all  the  truth,  unless  the  other  one  have  a  right 
to  know.  Silence  is  always  an  alternative  with  truth. 
Remember  that  the  silken  cords  of  love  must  ever 
be  linked  with  those  of  truth  ;  otherwise  they  will 
but  gall  and  irritate,  instead  of  guiding  into  paths  of 
rectitude. 


MAN  of  honor  !  What  a  glorious  title  is  that! 
Who  would  not  rather  have  it  than  any  that 
kings  can  bestow?  It  is  worth  all  the  gold 
and  silver  in  the  world.  He  who  merits  it 
wears  a  jewel  within  his  soul  and  needs  none  upon 
his  bosom.  "His  word  is  as  good  as  his  bond,"  and 
if  there  were  no  law  in  the  land  one  might  deal  just 
as  safely  with  him.  To  take  unfair  advantage  is  not 
in  him.  To  quibble  and  guard  his  speech  so  that  he 
leads  others  to  suppose  that  he  means  something 
that  he  does  not  mean,  even  while  they  can  never 
prove  that  it  is  so,  would  be  impossible  to  his  frank 
nature.  His  speeches  are  never  riddles.  He  looks 
you  in  the  eye  and  says  straight  out  the  things  he 
has  to  say,  and  he  does  unto  others  the  things  he 
would  that  they  should  do  to  him. 

He  is  a  good  son  and   a   good   brother.     Who 
ever  heard  him  betray  the  faults  and  follies  of  his 


HONOR.  297 

near  kindred?  And  with  his  friends  he  proves  him- 
self true,  and  will  not  betray  the  trust  friendship 
imposes  on  him.  And  with  strangers  you  do  not 
find  him  too  curious  about  the  affairs  of  others,  or 
too  eager  to  impart  information  accidentally  gleaned 
by  him.  Real  honor  and  esteem  are  not  difficult  to 
be  obtained  in  the  world.  They  are  best  won  by 
actual  worth  and  merit  rather  than  by  art  and  in- 
trigue, which  runs  a  long  and  ruinous  race,  and 
seldom  seizes  upon  the  prize  at  last.  Clear  and 
round  dealing  is  the  honor  of  man's  nature,  and 
mixture  of  falsehood  is  like  alloy  in  coin  of  gold 
and  silver,  which  may  make  the  metal  work  the 
better,  but  it  embaseth  it. 

Honor,  like  reputation  and  character,  displays 
itself  in  little  acts.  It  is  of  slow  growth.  Anciently 
the  Romans  worshiped  virtue  and  honor  as  gods ; 
they  built  two  temples,  which  were  so  seated  that 
none  could  enter  the  temple  of  honor  without  pass- 
ing through  the  temple  of  virtue,  thus  symbolizing 
the  truth  that  all  honor  is  founded  on  virtue.  He 
whose  soul  is  set  to  do  right  finds  himself  more 
firmly  bound  by  the  principle  of  honor  than  by  legal 
restraints — much  more  at  ease  when  bound  by  the 
law  than  when  bound  by  his  conscience.  He  who  is 
actuated  by  false  principles  of  honor  does  not  feel 
thus.  True  honor  is  internal,  false  honor  external. 
The  one  is  founded  on  principles,  the  other  on  inter- 
ests. The  one  does  not  ostentatiously  proclaim  its 
lofty  aims ;  it  prefers  that  its  conduct  and  actions 
demonstrate  its  purposes.  He  who  is  moved  by 


298  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

false  honor  is  constantly  worried  lest  some  one  should 
doubt  that  he  was  a  man  of  honor.  He  is  so  busily 
engaged  in  sustaining  his  reputation  against  fancied 
attacks  on  his  honor  that  he  finds  but  little  time  to 
devote  to  the  exercise  of  those  acts  which  a  fine 
sense  of  honor  would  impel  him  to  do.  Such  a  one 
may  be  a  libertine,  penurious,  proud  —  may  insult 
his  inferiors  and  defraud  his  creditors — but  it  is  im- 
possible for  one  possessed  of  true  honor  to  be  any 
of  these. 

Honor  and  virtue  are  not  the  same,  though  true 
honor  is  always  founded  on  virtue.  Honor  may  take 
her  tones  and  texture  from  the  prevailing  manners 
and  customs  of  those  around  us ;  this  renders  her 
vacillating  unless  allied  to  virtue,  which  is  the  same 
in  both  hemispheres,  yesterday  as  to-day.  When 
honor  is  not  founded  on  virtue  she  becomes  essen- 
tially selfish  in  design,  and  is  unworthy  of  her  name. 
She  is  then  unstable  and  seldom  the  same,  for  she 
feeds  upon  opinion,  and  will  be  as  fickle  as  her  food. 
She  builds  a  lofty  structuc-;  on  the  sandy  foundation 
of  the  esteem  of  those -who  are,  of  all  beings,  the 
most  subject  to  change.  Combined  with  virtue  she 
is  uniform  and  fixed,  because  she  looks  for  approba- 
tion only  from  Him  who  is  the  same  at  all  times. 
Honor  by  herself  is  capricious  in  her  rewards.  She 
feeds  us  upon  air,  and  often  pulls  down  our  house 
to  build  our  monument.  She  is  contracted  in  her 
views,  inasmuch  as  her  hopes  are  rooted  on  to  earth, 
bounded  by  time,  and  terminated  by  death.  But, 
when  directed  by  virtue,  her  hopes  become  enlarged 


POLICY.  299 

and  magnified,  inasmuch  as  they  extend  beyond  pres- 
ent things  —  even  to  things  eternal.  In  the  storms 
and  tempests  of  life  mere  honor  is  not  to  be  de- 
pended on,  because  she  herself  partakes  of  the  tu- 
mult; she  also  is  buffeted  by  the  waves  and  borne 
along  by  the  whirlwind.  But  virtue  is  above  the 
storm,  and  gives  to  honor  a  sure  and  steadfast 
anchor,  since  it  is  cast  into  heaven. 


|HAT  is  called  policy  is  sometimes  spoken  of  in 
the  same  sense  as  prudence,  but  its  nature  is 
cunning.  It  is  a  thing  of  many  aspects  and 
<$>  of  many  tongues  ;  it  can  appear  in  any  form  and 
speak  in  any  language.  It  is  sometimes  called  man- 
agement, but  is  not  worthy  of  that  good  name,  inas- 
much as  it  is  but  a  compound  of  sagacity  and  deceit, 
of  duplicity  and  of  mea%ess.  It  puts  on  the  sem- 
blance of  kindness  and  concern  for  your  good,  but  its 
heart  is  treachery  and  selfishness. 

This  principle,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  is  of  very 
extensive  influence.  It  is  adopted  and  acted  upon  by 
multitudes,  who  claim  to  be  respectable  and  intelligent 
men,  and  is  not  confined  to  the  few  or  those  of  the 
baser  sort.  Its  devotees  may  not  be  aware  that  this 
is  their  ruling  principle  of  action.  They  mistake  its 
meaning  by  giving  it  a  wrong  name.  They  call  it 
prudence,  discretion,  wisdom.  Alas  !  it  is  not  guided 


300  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

by  the  high  principles  of  integrity,  which  beautify 
and  adorn  those  noble  attributes  of  perfect  manhood. 
Its  appropriate  name  is  policy,  the  sister  of  cunning, 
the  child  of  deception  and  duplicity. 

This  principle  of  double  dealing,  of  artful  accom- 
modation and  management,  is  eminently  characteristic 
of  the  present  age.  It  meets  every  man  on  his 
blind  side,  and  by  stratagem  makes  a  tool  of  him  to 
accomplish  its  own  wily  and  selfish  purposes.  If  he 
is  weak,  it  deceives  him  by  its  artifices ;  if  he  is 
vain,  it  puffs  up  his  vanity  by  flattery ;  if  he  is 
avaricious,  it  allures  him  with  the  prospect  of  gain  ; 
if  he  is  ambitious,  it  promises  him  promotion  ;  if  he 
is  timid,  it  threatens  him.  Its  leading  maxim  is, 
"The  end  justifies  the  means,"  and,  in  pursuing  its 
end,  it  sticks  at  nothing  that  promises  success.  It 
may  be  traced  in  all  departments  of  business  and 
through  all  grades  of  society,  from  the  grand  coun- 
cils of  the  nation  to  the  little  town  or  parish  meet- 
ing. Instead  of  acting  in  open  daylight,  pursuing  the 
direct  and  straightforward  path  of  rectitude  and  duty, 
you  see  men  extensively  putting  on  false  appearances, 
working  in  the  dark,  and  carrying  their  plans  by 
stratagem  and  deceit;  nothing  open,  nothing  direct 
and  honest ;  one  thing  is  said,  and  another  thing  is 
meant.  When  you  look  for  a  man  in  one  place,  you 
find  him  in  another.  With  flattering  lips  and  a 
double  heart  do  they  speak.  Their  language  and 
conduct  do  not  proceed  from  fixed  principles  and 
open-hearted  sincerity,  but  from  a  spirit  of  duplicity 
and  selfish  policy. 


POLICY.  301 

Prudence,  caution,  and  business  management  are 
not  only  a  necessity,  but  are  commended  as  the  price 
of  success  in  worldly  affairs.  They  have  the  sanction 
of  our  best  judgment,  and  offend  no  moral  sense  of 
right.  But  against  mere  policy  every  young  man  who 
has  any  desire  of  lasting  respectability  and  influence 
ought  most  carefully  be  on  his  guard.  Nothing  can 
be  more  fatal  to  reputation  and  success  in  life  than  to 
acquire  the  character  of  an  artful  intriguer,  one  who 
does  all  things  with  the  ulterior  design  of  furthering 
his  own  ends.  He  may  succeed  for  a  time  ;  but  he 
will  soon  be  found  out,  and  when  found  out  will  be 
despised.  He  who  acts  on  this  principle  thinks  that 
nobody  knows  it ;  but  he  is  wretchedly  mistaken. 
The  thin  disguise  that  is  thrown  over  the  inner  man 
is  soon  seen  through  by  every  one,  and  while  he  prides 
himself  on  being  very  wise  and  keeping  his  designs 
out  of  sight,  all  persons  of  the  least  discernment 
perfectly  understand  him,  and  despise  him  for  think- 
ing he  could  make  fools  of  them. 

People  often  mistake  policy  for  discretion.  There 
is  a  wide  difference  between  the  two  traits.  Policy 
is  only  the  mimic  of  discretion,  but  may  pass  current 
with  the  mass  in  the  same  manner  as  vivacity  is  often 
mistaken  for  wit  and  gravity  for  wisdom.  Policy  has 
only  private,  selfish  aims,  and  stops  at  nothing  which 
may  render  these  successful.  Discretion  has  large 
and  extended  views,  and,  like  a  well-formed  eye, 
commands  a  wide  horizon.  Policy  is  a  kind  of  short 
insight  that  discovers  the  minutest  objects  that  are 
close  at  hand,  but  is  not  able  to  discover  things  at  a 


302  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

distance.  The  whole  power  of  policy  is  private ;  to 
say  nothing  and  to  do  nothing  is  the  utmost  of  its 
reach.  Yet  men  thus  narrow  by  nature  and  mean 
by  art  are  sometimes  able  to  rise  by  the  miscarriage 
of  bravery  and  openness  of  integrity,  and,  watching 
failures  and  snatching  opportunities,  obtain  advan- 
tages which  belong  to  higher  characters. 

The  observant  man  will  not  calculate  any  essential 
difference  from  mere  appearances.  The  light  laughter 
that  bubbles  on  the  lips,  often  mantles  over  brackish 
depths  of  sadness,  and  the  serious  look  may  be  the 
sober  veil  that  covers  a  divine  peace.  The  bosom 
may  ache  beneath  diamond  broches,  or  a  blithe  heart 
dance  under  coarse  wool  sacks.  By  a  kind  of  fash- 
ionable discipline  the  eye  is  taught  to  brighten,  the 
lip  to  smile,  and  the  whole  countenance  to  emanate 
the  semblance  of  friendly  welcome,  while  the  bosom 
is  unwarmed  by  a  single  spark  of  genuine  kindness 
and  good-will.  Grief  and  anxiety  lie  hidden  under 
the  golden  robes  of  prosperity,  and  the  gloom  of 
calamity  is  often  cheered  by  the  secret  radiations  of 
hope  and  comfort,  as  in  the  works  of  nature  the  bog 
is  sometimes  covered  with  flowers  and  the  mine  con- 
cealed in  barren  crags.  Beware,  so  long  as  you  live, 
of  judging  men  by  the  outward  appearance. 

But  nothing  feigned  or  violent  can  last  long.  Life 
becomes  manifest.  It  will  declare  itself,  and  at  last 
the  worthless  disguises  are  worn  off.  Hence,  the 
lesson  that  the  wise  man  should  learn  is  to  guard 
against  mere  appearances  in  others,  but  for  himself 
to  pursue  the  straightforward,  open  course,  and  in  a 


EGOTTSM.  303 

world  of  deceit  and  intrigue  show  himself  a  man  that 
can  be  relied  on.  Thus  will  his  life  be  influential  for 
good,  and  after  he  is  gone  his  memory  will  be  revered 
as  that  of  an  upright  man. 


^HERE   is  one  quality  which  brings  to  its  pos- 
sessor  naught   but    ridicule,    or,    what    is    still 
worse,  positive  dislike :    it  is   sometimes  called 
self-conceit,  but  more  commonly  and  more  for- 
cibly expressed  by  egotism. 

Egotism  and  skepticism  are  always  miserable  com- 
panions in  life,  and  are  especially  unlovable  in  youth. 
The  egotist  is  next  door  to  a  fanatic.  Constantly 
occupied  with  self,  he  has  no  thoughts  to  spare  for 
others.  He  refers  to  himself  in  all  things,  thinks  of 
himself,  and  studies  himself,  until  his  own  little  self 
becomes  his  ruling  principle  of  action.  The  pests 
of  society  are  egotists.  There  are  some  men  whose 
opposition  can  be  reckoned  upon  against  every  thing 
that  has  not  emanated  from  themselves.  He  that 
falls  in  love  with  himself  will  have  no  rivals.  The 
egotist's  code  is,  Every  thing  for  himself,  nothing  for 
others.  Hence  it  is  by  reason  of  their  selfishness 
that  they  find  the  world  so  ugly,  because  they  can 
only  see  themselves  in  it. 

An  egotist  is  seldom  a  man  of  brilliant  parts.  A 
talented  or  sensible  man  is  apt  to  drop  out  of  his 


304  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

narration  every  allusion  to  himself.  He  is  content  with 
putting  his  theme  on  its  own  ground.  You  shall  not 
tell  me  you  have  learned  to  know  most  men.  Your 
saying  so  disproves  it.  You  shall  not  tell  me  by 
their  titles  what  books  you  have  read.  You  shall' 
not  tell  me  your  house  is  the  best  and  your  pictures 
the  finest.  You  shall  make  me  feel  it.  I  am  not 
to  infer  it  from  your  conversation.  It  is  a  false 
principle,  because  we  are  entirely  occupied  with  our- 
selves, we  must  equally  occupy  the  thoughts  of 
others.  The  contrary  inference  is  but  the  fair  one. 
We  are  such  hypocrites  that  whatever  we  talk  of 
ourselves,  though  our  words  may  sound  humble,  our 
hearts  are  nearly  always  proud.  When  all  is  summed 
up,  a  man  never  speaks  of  himself  without  loss  ;  his 
accusation  of  himself  is  always  believed,  his  praises 
never.  This  love  of  talking  of  self  is  a  disease  that, 
like  influenza,  falls  on  all  constitutions.  It  is  allow- 
able to  speak  of  yourself,  provided  you  do  not  con- 
tinually advance  new  arguments  in  your  favor.  But 
abuse  of  self  is  nearly  as  bad,  since  we  can  not  help 
suspecting  that  those  who  abuse  themselves  are,  in 
reality,  angling  for  approbation. 

Ofttimes  we  dislike  egotism  in  others  simply  be- 
cause of  our  own.  We  feel  it  a  slight,  when  we  are 
by,  that  one  should  talk  of  himself,  or  seek  to  enter- 
tain us  with  his  own  interests  instead  of  asking  us 
ours.  He  who  thinks  he  can  find  in  himself  the 
means  of  doing  without  others  is  much  mistaken. 
But  he  who  thinks  others  can  not  do  without  him  is 
still  more  mistaken.  Conceit  is  the  most  contempt- 


EGOTISM.  305 

ible  and  one  of  the  most  odious  qualities  in  the 
world.  It  is  vanity  drawn  from  all  other  shifts,  and 
forced  to  appeal  to  itself  for  admiration.  It  is  to 
nature  what  paint  is  to  beauty  ;  it  is  not  only  need- 
less, but  it  impairs  what  it  would  improve.  He  who 
gives  himself  airs  of  importance  exhibits  the  creden- 
tials of  impotence.  He  that  fancies  himself  very 
enlightened  because  he  sees  the  deficiency  of  others 
may  be  very  ignorant  because  he  has  not  studied  his 
own.  In  the  same  degree  as  we  overrate  ourselves 
we  shall  underrate  others  ;  for  injustice  allowed  at 
home  is  not  likely  to  be  corrected  abroad. 

It  is  this  unquiet  love  of  self  that  renders  us 
so  sensitive.  It  is  an  instrument  useful,  but  danger- 
ous. It  often  wounds  the  hand  that  makes  use  of  it, 
and  seldom  does  good  without  doing  harm.  The 
sick  man  who  sleeps  ill  thinks  the  night  long.  We 
exaggerate  all  the  evils  which  we  encounter ;  they 
are  great,  but  our  sensibility  increases  them.  Man 
should  not  prize  himself  by  what  he  has  ;  neither 
should  others  prize  him  by  what  he  professes  to  have, 
or  what  he  by  vigorous  talk  constantly  lays  claim  to 
possess.  We  should  seek  the  more  valuable  qualities 
which  lie  hidden  in  his  true  self.  He  mistakes  who 
values  a  jewel  by  its  golden  frame,  or  a  book  by  its 
silver  clasps,  or  a  man  by  reason  of  his  estates  or 
profession. 

The  true  measure  of  success  always  lies  between 
two  extremes.  Egotism  and  overweening  self-conceit 
are  indeed  deplorable  blemishes  in  any  character ; 
but  we,  perhaps,  forget  that  he  who  is  totally  desti- 


306  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIF&. 

tute  of  them  presents  but  a  sorry  figure  in  the  world's 
battle-field.  He  lacks  individuality,  and  lacks  the 
courage  to  push  forward  his  own  interests.  In  this 
aggressive  age  it  will  not  do  to  be  destitute  of  a  right 
degree  of  self-confidence.  Lacking  this,  men  are  too 
often  deterred  from  taking  that  position  for  which 
their  talents  eminently  fit  them,  and  at  last  have  only 
vain  regrets  as  they  contemplate  life's  failures.  Ego- 
tism is  as  distinct  and  separate  from  a  manly  self- 
confidence  in  one's  own  powers  as  the  unsightly  block 
of  marble  is  to  the  finished  statuette,  which  consists, 
indeed,  of  the  same  materials  as  the  former,  but  so 
softened  and  modified  as  to  be  an  object  of  admira- 
tion to  all.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  draw  the  dividing 
lines.  Egotism  exultingly  proclaims  to  all,  "  Look  at 
me.  What  strength,  what  ability,  what  talents  are 
mine  !  Who  so  graceful  ?  who  so  gifted  ?  who  so 
competent  to  be  placed  in  position  of  honor  or  au- 
thority as  I  ?  I  am  sure  of  success.  Behold  my 
triumph!"  The  man  who  is  withal  modest,  yet  feels 
that  he  possesses  acquisitions  and  gifts,  says:  "True, 
the  way  is  long,  the  time  discouraging,  but  what  has 
been  done  can  be  done.  I  can  but  make  the  effort, 
and  go  forward  to  the  best  of  my  ability  ;  and  if  so 
be  I  fail,  with  a  brave  heart  and  a  cheerful  face  I  will 
do  what  duty  points  out ;  but  if  success  crowns  my 
efforts,  I  will  so  use  my  advantages  that  all  may  be 
benefited." 


VANITY.  307 


is  no  vice  or  folly  that  requires  so  much 
nicety  and   skill  to  manage  as  vanity,  nor  any 

?.  which,  by  ill-management,  makes  so  contempt- 
ible a  figure.  The  desire  of  being  thought 
wise  is  often  a  hindrance  to  being  so,  for  such  a 
one  is  often  more  desirous  of  letting  the  world  see 
what  knowledge  he  hath  than  to  learn  of  others  that 
which  he  wants.  Men  are  more  apt  to  be  vain  on 
account  of  those  qualities  which  they  fondly  believe 
they  have  than  of  those  which  they  really  possess 
$ome  would  be  thought  to  do  great  things  who  are 
but  tools  or  instruments,  like  the  fool  who  fancied 
he  played  upon  the  organ  when  he  only  blew  the 
bellows. 

Be  not  so  greedy  of  popular  applause  as  to  for- 
get that  the  same  breath  which  blows  up  a  fire  may 
blow  it  out  again.  Vanity,  like  laudanum  and  other 
poisonous  medicines,  is  beneficial  in  small,  though 
injurious  in  large,  quantities.  Be  not  vain  of  your 
want  of  vanity.  When  you  hear  the  phrase,  "  I  may 
say  without  vanity,"  you  may  be  sure  some  charac- 
teristic vanity  will  follow  in  the  same  breath.  The 
most  worthless  things  are  sometimes  most  esteemed. 
It  is  not  all  the  world  that  can  pull  an  humble  man 
down,  because  God  will  exalt  him.  Nor  is  it  all  the 
world  that  can  keep  a  proud  man  up,  because  God 
will  debase  him. 

Vanity  feeds  voraciously  and  abundantly  on  the 


308  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

richest  food  that  can  be  served  up,  or  can  live  on 
less  and  meaner  diet  than  any  thing -of  which  \ve 
can  form  a  conception.  The  rich  and  the  poor, 
learned  and  ignorant,  strong  and  weak, — all  have 
a  share  in  vanity.  The  humblest  Christian  is  not 
free  from  it,  and  when  he  is  most  humble  the  devil 
will  flatter  his  vanity  by  telling  him  of  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  with  equal  relish  that  it  feeds  upon 
vulgarity,  coarseness,  and  fulsome  eccentricity, — 
every  thing,  in  short,  by  which  a  person  can  at- 
tract attention.  It  often  takes  liberality  by  the  hand, 
prompts  advice,  administers  reproof,  and  sometimes 
perches  visibly  and  ga.yly  on  the  prayers  and  sermons 
in  the  pulpit.  It  is  an  ever-present  principle  of  hu- 
man nature — a  wen  on  the  heart  of  man  ;  less  painful, 
but  equally  loathsome  as  a  cancer.  It  is  of  all  others 
the  most  baseless  propensity. 

O  vanity,  how  little  is  thy  force  acknowledged  or 
thine  operations  discerned !  How  wantonly  dost  thou 
deceive  mankind  under  different  disguises!  Some- 
times thou  dost  wear  the  face  of  pity;  sometimes  of 
generosity ;  nay,  thou  hast  the  assurance  to  put  on 
the  robes  of  religion  and  the  glorious  ornaments  that 
belong  only  to  heroic  virtue.  Vanity  is  the  fruit  of 
ignorance.  It  thrives  most  in  those  places  never 
reached  by  the  air  of  heaven  or  the  light  of  the 
sun.  It  is  a  deceitful  sweetness,  a  fruitless  labor,  a 
perpetual  fear,  a  dangerous  honor ;  her  beginning  is 
without  providence,  but  her  end  not  without  repent- 
ance. Vanity  is  so  constantly  solicitous  of  self  that 
even  where  its  own  claims  are  not  interested  it  indi- 


VANITY.  309 

rectly  seeks  the  aliment  which  it  loves  by  showing 
how  little  is  "deserved  by  others. 

Charms  which,  like  flowers,  lie  on  the  surface — 
such  as  preserve  figure  and  dress — conduce  to  vanity. 
On  the  contrary,  those  excellencies  which  lie  down, 
like  gold,  and  are  discovered  with  difficulty — such  as 
profoundness  of  intellect  and  morality — leave  their 
possessors  modest  and  humble.  Vanity  ceases  to  be 
blameless,  even  if  it  is  not  ennobled,  when  it  is  di- 
rected to  laudable  objects,  when  it  prompts  us  to 
great  and  generous  actions.  Vanity  is,  indeed,  the 
poison  of  agreeableness,  yet  even  a  poison,  when 
skillfully  employed,  has  a  salutary  effect  in  medicine ; 
so  has  vanity  in  the  commerce  and  society  of  the 
world. 

Some  intermixture  of  vainglorious  tempers  puts 
life  into  business,  and  makes  a  fit  composition  for 
grand  enterprises  and  hazardous  endeavors ;  for  men 
of  solid  and  sober  natures  have  more  of  the  ballast 
than  the  sail.  Vanity  is,  in  one  sense,  the  antidote 
to  conceit,  for,  while  the  former  makes  us  all  nerve 
to  the  opinions  of  others,  the  latter  is  perfectly  satis- 
fied with  its  opinion  of  itself.  A  vain  man  can  not 
be  altogether  rude.  Desirous  as  he  is  of  pleasing  he 
fashions  his  manners  after  those  of  others.  There- 
fore, let  us  give  vanity  fair  quarter  wherever  we 
meet  with  it,  being  persuaded  that  it  is  often  pro- 
ductive of  good  to  its  possessor,  and  to  others  who 
are  within  its  sphere  of  action. 

Vanity  pervades  the  whole  human  family  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  as  the  atmosphere  does  the 


310  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

globe.  It  is  so  anchored  in  the  heart  of  man  that 
not  only  in  the  lower  walks  of  life  but  in  the  higher 
all  wish  to  have  their  admirers.  Those  who  write 
against  it  wish  to  have  the  glory  of  writing  well,  and 
those  who  read  it  wish  the  glory  of  reading  well. 
Vanity  calculates  but  poorly  on  the  vanity  of  others. 
What  a  virtue  we  should  distill  from  frailty !  what  a 
world  of  pain  we  would  save  our  brethren,  if  we 
would  suffer  our  weakness  to  be  the  measure  of 
theirs ! 

We  would  rather  contend  with  pride  than  vanity, 
because  pride  has  a  stand-up  way  of  fighting.  You 
know  where  it  is.  It  throws  its  black  shadow  on 
you,  and  you  are  not  at  a  loss  where  to  strike. 
But  vanity  is  such  a  delusive  and  multified  failing 
that  men  who  fight  vanities  are  like  men  who  fight 
midgets  and  butterflies.  It  is  much  easier  to  chase 
them  than  to  hit  them.  Vanity  may  be  likened  to 
the  mouse  nibbling  about  in  the  expectation  of  a 
crumb;  while  pride  is  apt  to  be  like  the  butcher's 
dog,  who  carries  off  your  steak  and  growls  at  you 
as  he  goes.  Pride  is  never  more  offensive  than 
when  it  condescends  to  be  civil ;  whereas  vanity, 
whenever  it  forgets  itself,  naturally  assumes  good 
humor. 

Extinguish  vanity  in  the  mind,  and  you  naturally 
retrench  the  little  superfluities  of  garniture  and  equi- 
page. The  flowers  will  fall  of  themselves  when  the. 
root  that  nourishes  them  is  destroyed.  We  have 
nothing  of  which  we  should  be  vain,  but  much  to  in- 
duce humility.  If  we  have  any  good  qualities  they 


SELFISHNESS.  3H 

are  the  gift  of  God.  Let  every  one  guard  against 
this  all- pervading  principle,  and  teach  their  children 
that  it  is  the  shadow  of  a  shade. 


JHERE  is  nothing  in  the  world  so  malignant  and 
destructive  in  its  nature  and  tendency  as  selfish- 
ness. It  has  done  all  the  mischief  of  the  past, 
and  is  destined  to  do  all  the  mischief  of  the 
unseen  future.  It  has  destroyed  the  temporal  and 
eternal  interests  of  millions  in  times  past,  and  it  is 
morally  certain  that  it  will  destroy  the  interests  of 
millions  yet  to  come.  It  is  the  source  of  all  the  sins 
of  omission  and  commission  which  are  found  in  the 
world.  We  shall  not  see  a  wrong  take  place  but  that 
the  actor  is  moved  by  his  own  private,  personal,  and 
selfish  nature. 

Selfishness  is  a  vice  utterly  at  variance  with  the 
happiness  of  him  who  harbors  it,  for  the  selfish  man 
surfers  more  from  his  selfishness  than  he  from  whom 
that  selfishness  withholds  some  important  benefit.  He 
that  sympathizes  in  all  the  happiness  of  others  per- 
haps himself  enjoys  the  safest  happiness,  and  he  who 
is  warned  by  all  the  folly  of  others  has  perhaps  at- 
tained the  soundest  wisdom.  But  such  is  the  blind- 
ness and  suicidal  selfishness  of  mankind  that  things 
so  desirable  are  seldom  pursued,  things  so  accessible 
seldom  attained.  The  selfish  person  lives  as  if  the 


312  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

world  were  made  altogether  for  him,  and  not  he  for 
the  world ;  to  take  in  every  thing,  and  part  with 
nothing. 

Selfishness  contracts  and  narrows  our  benevolence, 
and  causes  us,  like  serpents,  to  infold  ourselves  within 
ourselves,  and  to  turn  out  our  stings  to  all  the  world 
besides.  As  frost  to  the  bud  and  blight  to  the  blos- 
som, even  such  is  self-interest  to  friendship,  for  confi- 
dence can  not  dwell  where  selfishness  is  porter  at  the 
gate.  The  essence  of  true  nobility  is  neglect  of  self. 
Let -the  thought  of  self  pass  in,  and  the  beauty  of  a 
great  action  is  gone,  like  the  bloom  from  a  soiled 
flower.  Selfishness  is  the  bane  of  all  life.  It  can 
not  enter  into  any  life — individual,  family,  or  social — . 
without  cursing  it.  It  maintains  its  ground  by  tenac- 
ity and  contention,  and  engenders  strife  and  discord 
where  all  before  was  peace  and  harmony. 

Few  sins  in  the  world  are  punished  more  con- 
stantly or  more  certainly  than  that  of  selfishness.  It 
dwarfs  all  the  better  nature  of  man.  It  takes  from 
him  that  feeling  of  kindly  sympathy  for  others'  good, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  traits  of  manhood, 
and  in  its  stead  sets  up  self  as  the  one  whose  good  is 
to  be  chiefly  sought.  It  makes  self  the  vortex  in- 
stead of  the  fountain,  so  that,  instead  of  throwing 
out,  he  learns  only  to  draw  in.  These  withering 
effects  are  to  be  seen  not  only  in  the  high  roads  and 
public  places  of  life,  but  in  the  nooks  and  by-lanes  as 
well.  Not  alone  among  conquerors  and  kings,  but 
among  the  humble  and  obscure  ;  in  the  dissembling 
artifices  of  trade ;  in  the  unsanctified  lust  of  wealth ; 


SELFISHNESS.  313 

in  the  devoted  pursuit  of  station  and  power;  confed- 
erated with  the  worst  feelings  and  most  depraved 
designs. 

In  proportion  as  we  contract  and  curtail  our  feel- 
ings, so  do  we  confine  and  limit  our  minds.  If  all  our 
thoughts,  plans,  and  purposes  tend  only  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  self,  we  may  be  sure  they  will  become 
as  insignificant  as  their  object,  and  instead  of  em- 
bracing in  their  scope  the  welfare  of  many,  rendering 
us  an  object  of  endearment  to  others,  they  will  be- 
come dwarfed  and  conceited,  and  fall  far  short  of  the 
liberality  and  public  spirit  by  which  we  attach  others 
to  our  cause.  Unselfish  and  noble  acts  are  the  most 
radiant  epochs  in  the  history  of  souls,  points  from 
which  we  date  a  larger  growth  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing. When  wrought  in  earliest  youth,  they  lie  in  the 
memory  of  age,  like  the  coral  islands,  green  and 
sunny,  waving  with  the  fruits  of  a  southern  clime 
amidst  the  melancholy  waste  of  water. 

The  vice  of  selfishness  displays  itself  in  many 
ways.  In  an  extreme  form  it  is  termed  avarice,  and 
shows  itself  in  an  insatiable  desire  to  gather  wealth. 
As  heat  changes  the  hitherto  brittle  metal  into  the 
elastic,  yielding,  yet  deadly  Damascus  blade,  so, 
when  the  demon  of  avarice  finds  lodgment  in  the 
heart  of  man,  it  changes  all  his  better  nature.  It 
may  find  him  delighting  to  do  good  and  relieving  the 
wants  of  others ;  it  leaves  him  one  whose  whole 
energy  and  power  are  turned  to  the  advancement  of 
self  alone.  This  is  the  grand  center  to  which  all  his 
efforts  tend.  There  is  no  length  to  which  an  avari- 


314  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

cious  man  will  not  go  in  his  mad  career.  In  order 
that  wealth  may  be  his  he  will  run  almost  any  risks, 
stand  any  privation,  and  will  sacrifice  not  only  his 
own  comfort  and  happiness,  but  that  also  of  his 
friends  and  associates,  or  even  of  his  own  family 
circle.  His  mind  is  never  expanded  beyond  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  almighty  dollar.  He  thinks  not 
of  his  immortal  soul,  his  accountability  to  God,  or  of 
his  final  destiny.  Selfishness  in  its  worst  form  has 
complete  possession  of  his  heart.  It  is  the  ruling 
principle  of  his  life.  One  strange  feature  about  this 
form  of  selfishness  is  that  it  ultimately  defeats  its 
own  ends.  Its  possessor  is  an  Ishmael  in  the  com- 
munity. He  passes  to  the  grave  without  tasting  the 
sweets  of  friendship  or  the  comforts  of  life.  Striving 
for  wealth  in  order  that  he  may  have  wherewith  to 
procure  happiness,  he  ends  with  the  sacrifice  of  all 
the  means  of  enjoyment  in  order  that  he  may  aug- 
ment his  wealth  more  rapidly. 

The  closing  hours  of  a  life  of  selfishness  must  be 
clouded  with  many  painful  thoughts.  Chances  for 
doing  good  passed  unimproved.  In  order  that  some 
slight  personal  advantage  might  be  gained  kindly 
feelings  were  suppressed.  The  heart,  which  was  in- 
tended to  beat  with  compassion  for  others,  has  be- 
come contracted  to  a  narrow  circle,  and  life,  that 
inestimable  gift  of  Providence,  instead  of  drawing  to 
its  close  a  rounded  and  complete  whole,  has  been 
stinted  and  dwarfed,  and  passes  on  to  the  other 
world  but  illy  prepared  for  the  great  changes  wrought 
by  the  hand  of  death. 


OBSTINACY.  315 


jBSTINACY  and  contention  are  common  quali- 
ties,  most  appearing  in  and  best  becoming  a 
mean  and  illiterate  soul.  They  arise  not  so  much 
from  a  conscious  defect  of  voluntary  power,  as 
foolhardiness  is  not  seldom  the  disguise  of  conscious 
timidity.  Obstinacy  must  not  be  confounded  with 
perseverance;  for  obstinacy  presumptuously  declines 
to  listen  t^  reason,  but  perseverance  only  continues  its 
exertion  while  satisfied  that  good  judgment  sustains 
its  course.  There  are  few  things  more  singular  than 
that  obstinacy  which,  in  matters  of  the  highest  im- 
portance to  ourselves,  often  prevents  us  from  ac- 
knowledging the  truth  that  is  perfectly  plain  to  all. 
There  is  something  in  obstinacy  which  differs  from 
every  other  passion.  Whenever  it  fails  it  never  re- 
covers, but  either  breaks  like  iron  or  crumbles  sulkily 
away  like  a  fractured  arch.  Most  other  passions  have 
'their  periods  of  fatigue  and  rest,  their  suffering  and 
their  care  ;  but  obstinacy  has  no  resources,  and  the 
first  wound  is  mortal.  Narrowness  of  mind  is  often 
the  cause  of  obstinacy  ;  we  do  not  easily  believe  be- 
yond what  we  see.  Hence  it  is  that  the  more  ex- 
tensive one's  knowledge  of  mankind  becomes,  the 
less  inclined  is  he  to  the  vice  of  obstinacy ;  and  an 
obstinate  disposition,  instead  of  denoting  a  mind  of 
superior  ability,  always  denotes  a  dwarfed,  ignorant, 
and  selfish  disposition.  An  obstinate,  ungovernable 
self-sufficiency  plainly  points  out  to  us  that  state  of 


316  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

imperfect  maturity  at  which  the  graceful  levity  of 
youth  is  lost  and  the  solidity  of  experience  not  yet 
acquired. 

Obstinacy  is  not  only  a  result  of  a  narrow,  illiberal 
judgment,  but  it  is  a  barrier  to  all  improvements.  It 
casts  the  mind  in  a  mold,  and  as  utterly  prevents  it 
from  expanding  as  though  it  were  a  material  sub- 
stance encased  in  iron.  A  stubborn  mind  conduces 
as  little  to  wisdom,  or  even  to  knowledge,  as  a  stub- 
born temper  to  happiness.  Whosoever  perversely 
resolves  to  adhere  to  plans  or  opinions,  be  they  right 
or  be  they  wrong,  because  they  have  adopted  them, 
raises  an  impassable  bar  to  information.  The  wiser 
we  are  the  more  we  are  aware  of  the  extent  of  our 
ignorance.  Those  who  have  but  just  entered  the 
vestibule  of  the  temple  of  knowledge  invariably  feel 
themselves  much  wiser  than  those  who  meekly  wor- 
ship in  the  inner  sanctuary.  Positiveness  is  much 
more  apt  to  accompany  the  statement  of  the  super- 
ficial observer  than  him  whose  experience  has  been 
vast  and  profound.  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  might 
have  spoken  with  authority,  felt  as  a  child  on  the 
shore  of  the  great  sea  of  human  knowledge.  Doubt- 
less many  of  his  followers  feel  as  though  far  out  on 
the  tossing  waves  ;  for  they  act  as  if  their  opinion 
could  by  no  possibility  be  wrong. 

Sometimes  obstinacy  is  confounded  with  firmness, 
and  under  this  misnomer  is  practiced  as  a  virtue. 
But  the  line  between  obstinacy  and  firmness  is  strong 
and  decisive.  Firmness  of  purpose  is  one  of  the 
most  necessary  sinews  of  character,  and  one  of  the 


OBSTINACY.  317 

best  instruments  of  success.  Without  it,  genius 
wastes  its  efforts  in  a  maze  of  inconsistencies.  Firm- 
ness, while  not  suffering  itself  to  be  easily  driven 
from  its  course,  recognizes  the  fact  that  it  is  only 
perfection  that  is  immutable,  but  that  for  things  im- 
perfect change  is  the  way  to  perfect  them.  It  gets 
e  name  of  obstinacy  when  it  will  not  admit  of  a 
change  for  the  better.  Firmness  without  knowledge 
can  not  be  always  good.  In  things  ill  it  is  not  virtue, 
but  an  absolute  vice.  It  is  a  noble  quality ;  but  un- 
guided  by  knowledge  or  humility,  it  falls  into  obsti- 
nacy, and  so  loses  the  traits  whereby  we  before 
admired  it. 

Society  is  often  dragged  down  to  low  standards 
by  two  or  three  who  propose,  in  every  case,  to  fight 
every  thing  and  every  idea  of  which  they  are  not  the 
instigators'.  There  is  nothing  harder  for  a  man  with 
a  strong  will  than  to  make  up  his  mind  not  always 
to  have  his  own  way ;  to  submit,  in  many  cases, 
rather  than  to  quarrel  with  his  neighbors.  One  must 
certainly  make  up  his  mind  to  lose  much  of  happiness 
who  is  not  willing  to  give  way  at  times  to  the  wishes 
of  others.  We  must  learn  to  turn  sharp  corners  qui- 
etly, or  we  shall  be  constantly  hurting  ourselves. 

But  we  must  not,  in  decrying  obstinacy,  overlook 
the  fact  that,  while  it  certainly  is  a  great  vice  and 
frequently  the  cause  of  great  mischief,  yet  it  has 
closely  allied  with  it  the  whole  line -of  masculine  vir- 
tues, constancy,  fidelity,  and  fortitude,  and  that  in 
their  excess  all  the  virtues  easily  fall  into  it.  Yet  it  is 
ever  easy  to  determine  the  line  of  demarkation  where 


318  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

these  virtues  end  and  obstinacy  begins.  The  small- 
est share  of  common  sense  will  suffice  to  detect  it, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  few  people  pass  this 
boundary  without  being  conscious  of  the  fault.  The 
business  of  constancy  chiefly  is  bravely  to  stand  by 
and  stoutly  to  suffer  those  inconveniences  which  are 
not  otherwise  possible  to  be  avoided.  But  constancy 
does  not  adhere  to  an  opinion  merely  for  the  sake 
of  having  its  own  way,  wherein  it  differs  from 
obstinacy. 

There  are  situations  in  which  the  proper  opinions 
and  modes  of  action  are  not  evident.  In  such  cases 
we  must  maturely  reflect  ere  we  decide  ;  we  must 
seek  for  the  opinions  of  those  wiser  and  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  subject  than  ourselves  ;  we  must 
candidly  hear  all  that  can  be  said  on  both  sides ;  then, 
and  then  only,  can  we  in  such  cases  hope  to  deter- 
mine wisely.  But  the  decision  once  so  deliberately 
adopted  we  must  firmly  sustain,  and  never  yield  but 
to  the  most  unbiased  conviction  of  our  former  errors. 
But  when  such  conviction  is  secured,  it  is  the  part 
of  true  manliness  to  acknowledge  it,  and  of  true 
wisdom  to  make  the  required  change.  There  is  no 
principle  of  constancy  or  of  perseverance  or  of  forti- 
tude that  requires  us  to  continue  in  our  former  course 
when  convinced  that  it  is  wrong. 


SLANDER.  319 


,  ^T^  , 

[HERE  is  nothing  which  wings  its  flight  so  swiftly 
as  calumny ;  nothing  which  is  uttered  with  more 
ease ;  nothing  which  is  listened  to  with  more 
readiness,  or  dispersed  more  widely.  Slander 
soaks  into  the  mind  as  water  soaks  into  low  and 
marshy  places,  where  it  becomes  stagnant  and  offen- 
sive. Slander  is  like  the  Greek  fire,  which  burned 
unquenched  beneath  the  water ;  or,  like  the  weeds 
which,  when  you  have  extirpated  them  in  one  place, 
are  sprouting  vigorously  in  another ;  or,  it  is  like  the 
wheel  which  catches  fire  as  it  goes,  and  burns  with 
fiercer  conflagration  as  its  own  speed  increases. 

The  tongue  of  slander  is  never  tired ;  in  one  form 
or  another  it  manages  to  keep  itself  in  constant  em- 
ployment. Sometimes  it  drips  honey  and  sometimes 
gall.  It  is  bitter  now,  and  then  sweet.  It  insinuates 
or  assails  directly,  according  to  circumstances.  It 
will  hide  a  curse  under  a  smooth  word  and  administer 
poison  in  the  phrases  of  love.  Like  death,  it  "loves 
a  shining  mark,"  and  is  never  so  available  and  elo- 
quent as  when  it  can  blight  the  hopes  of  the  noble- 
minded,  soil  the  reputation  of  the  pure,  and  break 
down  or  destroy  the  character  of  the  brave  and 
strong. 

No  soul  of  high  estate  can  take  delight  in  slan- 
der. It  indicates  lapse,  tendency  toward  chaos,  utter 
depravity.  It  proves  that  somewhere  in  the  soul 
there  is  a  weakness — a  waste,  evil  nature.  Educa 


320  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

tion  and  refinement  are  no  proof  against  it.  They 
often  serve  only  to  polish  the  slanderous  tongue,  in- 
crease its  tact,  and  give  it  suppleness  and  "strategy. 

He  that  shoots  at  the  stars  may  hurt  himself,  but 
not  endanger  them.  When  any  man  speaks  ill  of 
us  we  are  to  make  use  of  it  as  a  caution,  without 
troubling  ourselves  at  the  calumny.  He  is  in  a 
wretched  case  that  values  himself  upon  the  opinions 
of  others,  and  depends  upon  their  judgment  for  the 
peace  of  his  life.  The  contempt  of  injurious  words 
stifles  them,  but  resentment  revives  them.  He  that 
values  himself  upon  conscience,  not  opinion,  never 
heeds  reproaches.  When  ill-spoken  of  take  it  thus  : 
If  you  have  not  deserved  it  you  are  none  the  worse ; 
if  you  have,  then  mend.  Flee  home  to  your  own 
conscience,  and  examine  your  own  heart.  If  you 
are  guilty  it  is  a  just  correction;  if  not  guilty  it  is  a 
fair  instruction ;  make  use  of  both ;  so  shall  you  dis- 
till honey  out  of  gall,  and  out  of  an  open  enemy 
create  a  secret  friend. 

That  man  who  attempts  to  bring  down  and  de- 
preciate those  who  are  above  him  does  not  thereby 
elevate  himself.  He  rather  sinks  himself,  while  those 
whom  he  traduces  are  benefited  rather  than  injured 
by  the  slander  of  one  so  base  as  he.  He  who  in- 
dulges in  slander  is  like  one  who  throws  ashes  to 
the  windward,  which  come  back  to  the  same  place 
and  cover  him  all  over.  To  be  continually  subject  to 
the  breath  of  slander  will  tarnish  the  purest  virtue  as 
a  constant  exposure  to  the  atmosphere  will  obscure 
the  luster  of  the  finest  gold;  but  in  either  the  real 


SLANDER.  321 

value  of  both  continues  the  same,  although  the  cur- 
rency may  be  somewhat  impeded.  Dirt  on  the  char- 
acter, if  unjustly  thrown,  like  dirt  on  the  clothes, 
should  be  let  alone  awhile  until  it  dries,  and  then 
it  will  rub  off  easily  enough.  Slander,  like  other 
poisons,  when  administered  in  very  heavy  doses,  is 
often  thrown  off  by  the  intended  victim,  and  thus 
relieves  where  it  was  meant  to  kill.  Dirt  sometimes 
acts  like  fuller's  earth — defiling  for  the  moment,  but 
purifying  in  the  end. 

How  small  a  matter  will  start  a  slanderous  report! 
How  frequently  is  the  honesty  and  integrity  of  a  man 
disposed  of  by  a  smile  or  a  shrug !  How  many  good 
and  generous  actions  have  been  sunk  in  oblivion  by 
a  distrustful  look,  or  stamped  with  the  imputation  of 
proceeding  from  bad  motives  by  a  mysterious  and 
seasonable  whisper!  A  mere  hint,  a  significant  look, 
a  mysterious  countenance,  directing  attention  to  a 
particular  person,  is  often  amply  sufficient  to  start 
the  tongue  of  slander. 

Never  does  a  man  portray  his  own  character  more 
vividly  than  in  his  manner  of  portraying  another's. 
There  is  something  unsound  about  the  man  whom 
you  have  never  heard  say  a  good  word  about  any 
mortal,  but  who  can  say  much  of  evil  of  nearly  all 
he  is  acquainted  with.  Never  speak  evil  of  another, 
even  with  a  cause.  Remember  we  all  have  our 
faults,  and  if  we  expect  charity  from  the  world  we 
must  be  charitable  ourselves.  Most  persons  have 
visible  faults,  and  most  are  sometimes  inconsistent; 
upon  these  faults  and  mistakes  petty  scandal  delights 


322  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

to  feast.  And  even  where  free  from  external  blem- 
ishes envy  and  jealousy  can  start  the  bloodhound  of 
suspicion — create  a  noise  that  will  attract  attention, 
and  many  may  be  led  to  suppose  there  is  game  where 
there  is  nothing  but  thin  air. 

A  word  once  spoken  can  never  be  recalled ;  there 
fore  it  is  prudent  to  think  twice  before  we  speak, 
especially  when  ill  is  the  burden  of  our  talk.  Give 
no  heed  to  an  infamous  story  handed  you  by  a  person 
known  to  be  an  enemy  to  the  one  he  is  defaming- 
neither  condemn  your  neighbor  unheard,  for  there  are 
always  two  sides  of  a  story.  Hear  no  ill  of  a  friend, 
nor  speak  any  of  an  enemy.  Believe  not  all  you 
hear,  nor  report  all  you  believe.  Be  cautious  in  be- 
lieving ill  of  others,  and  more  cautious  in  reporting  it. 

There  is  seldom  any  thing  uttered  in  malice  which 
returns  not  to  the  heart  of  the  speaker.  Believe 
nothing  against  another  but  on  good  authority,  nor 
report  what  may  hurt  another,  unless  it  be  a  greater 
hurt  to  others  to  conceal  it.  It  is  a  sign  of  bad  repu- 
tation to  take  pleasure  in  hearing  ill  of  our  neighbors. 
He  who  sells  his  neighbor's  credit  at  a  low  rate  makes 
the  market  for  another  to  buy  his  at  the  same  rate. 
He  that  indulges  himself  in  calumniating  or  ridiculing 
the  absent  plainly  shows  his  company  what  they  may 
expect  from  him  after  he  leaves  them. 

Deal  tenderly  with  the  absent.  Say  nothing  to 
inflict  a  wound  on  their  reputation.  They  may  be 
wrong  and  wicked,  yet  your  knowledge  of  it  does  not 
oblige  you  to  disclose  their  character,  except  to  save 
others  from  injury.  Then  do  it  in  a  wiy  that 


SLANDEE.  323 

bespeaks  a  spirit  of  kindness  for  the  absent  offender. 
Evil  reports  are  often  the  results  of  misunderstand- 
ing or  of  evil  designs,  or  they  proceed  from  an  ex- 
aggerated or  partial  disclosure  of  facts.  Wait,  learn 
the  whole  story  before  you  decide ;  then  believe  what 
the  evidence  compels  you  to,  and  no  more.  But 
even  then  take  heed  not  to  indulge  the  least  unkind- 
ness,  else  you  dissipate  all  the  spirit  of  prayer  for 
them,  and  unnerve  yourself  for  doing  them  good. 

On  many  a  mind  and  many  a  heart  there  are  sad 
inscriptions  deeply  engraved  by  the  t.  ngue  of  slan- 
der, which  no  effort  can  erase.  They  are  more  dur- 
able than  the  impression  of  the  diamond  on  the 
glass,  for  the  inscription  on  the  glass  may  be  de- 
stroyed by  a  blow,  but  the  impression  on  the  heart 
will  last  forever.  Let  not  the  sting  of  calumny  sink 
too  deeply  in  your  soul.  He  who  is  never  subject  to 
slander  is  generally  of  too  little  mental  account  to  be 
worthy  of  it.  Remember  that  it  is  always  the  best 
fruits  that  the  birds  pick  at,  that  wasps  light  on  the 
finest  flowers,  and  that  slanderers  are  like  flies,  that 
overlook  all  a  man's  good  parts  in  order  to  light 
upon  his  sores.  Know  that  slander  is  not  long-lived, 
provided  that  your  conduct  does  not  justify  them, 
and  that  truth,  the  child  of  time,  erelong  will  appear 
to  vindicate  thee. 


324  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


iEW  characteristics  are  more  unfortunate  in  theii 
fffa  effects  on  the  character  of  their  possessor  than 
irritability,  few  more  repulsive  and  annoying  tc 
those  with  whom  circumstances  bring  him  in 
contact.  Irritable  people  are  always  unjust,  always 
exacting,  always  dissatisfied.  They  claim  every  thing 
of  others,  yet  receive  their  best  efforts  with  petulance 
and  disdain.  This  habit  has  an  unfortunate  tendency 
of  growth,  until  it  renders  a  person  wholly  incapable 
of  conferring  happiness  upon  others.  As  the  morn- 
ing fog  renders  the  most  familiar  objects  uncouth  in 
appearance,  so  it  distorts  the  imagination  and  dis 
orders  the  mental  faculties,  so  that  truth  can  not 
be  distinguished  from  falsehood  or  friendship  from 
enmity. 

It  is  one  great  spring-source  of  envy  and  discon- 
tent, poisoning  the  fountain  of  life  ;  it  is  a  moral 
Upas-tree,  scattering  ruin  and  desolation  on  every 
side.  Its  origin  is  not  difficult  to  trace ;  activity  and 
energy  are  its  correctives.  Those  who  habitually 
occupy  their  minds  about  things  serviceable  to  others 
and  to  themselves  are  seldom  peevish  or  irritable ; 
but  those  whose  powers  are  enervated  by  inertia, 
whose  mental  pabulum  is  fiction  generated  in  a  dis- 
ordered fancy,  become  misanthropic  or  grumblers, 
and  speedily  give  way  to  incessant  fault-finding,  as 
annoying  as  it  is  unjust.  Did  irritable  people  know 
or  could  they  feel  the  effect  of  their  conduct  upoir 


IRRITABILITY.  325 

others,  they  would  doubtless  seek  to  refrain  from  the 
habit ;  but  the  possessor  of  such  a  turn  of  mind  is  as 
selfish  as  he  is  unjust,  and  cares  for  no  one  but  him- 
self. For  others  he  cares  nothing".  While  he  claims 
the  greatest  deference  for  himself,  he  will  not  defer 
to  the  wishes  of  others  in  the  slightest  degree. 

The  personal  sin  of  fretting  is  almost  as  exten- 
sive as  any  other  evil,  and  if  not  universal,  it  is  at 
least  very  general.  It  is  as  vain  and  useless  a  habit 
as  any  one  can  harbor.  It  is  a  direct  violation  of  the 
law  of  God,  and  its  direful  effects  are  fearful  to  con- 
template. Nothing  so  warps  a  man's  nature,  sours 
his  disposition,  and,  sooner  or  later,  breaks  up  the 
friendly  relationship  of  the  domestic  circle.  It  is  sin- 
ful in  its  beginning,  sinful  in  its  progress,  and  disas- 
trous in  its  results.  Such  a  spirit  in  the  family,  in 
the  school  or  Church  is  sure  to  become  contagious, 
and  result  in  great  injury. 

A  fretting,  irritable  disposition  will  not  fail  of 
finding  frequent  opportunities  for  indulgence.  It  is 
not  particular  as  to  time,  place,  or  cause.  Occasions 
literally  multiply  as  the  habit  increases  in  strength. 
Nothing  seems  to  go  right  with  its  possessor.  In- 
stead of  conquering  circumstances  they  control  and 
conquer  him.  Fretting  weakens  one's  self-respect, 
dissipates  "the  regards  of  others,  and  breaks  asunder 
the  bonds  of  affection.  If  a  scolder  should,  through 
deception  and  ignorance  of  his  true  character,  be  for 
a  time  loved,  still  the  canker  is  there,  the  mine  is 
sapped,  and,  sooner  or  later,  the  affections  will  be 
sundered.  Such  a  habit  too  frequently  indulged  in 


326  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

has  drawn  the  best  of  husbands  into  dissipation,  ren- 
dered the  most  affectionate  of  wives  miserable,  and 
estranged  members  of  the  same  family  circle.  It 
ruins  all  the  relationships  of  life,  it  is  a  most  perni- 
cious disposition,  a  dreadful  inheritance. 

It  is  ever  the  disposition  of  human  nature  to  pat 
tern  more  easily  after  the  evils  by  which  we  are  sur- 
rounded than  the  good.  There  is  also  an  unfortunate 
disposition  on  our  part  to  criticise  the  faults  of  those 
around  us  which  displease  us.  Did  we  always  do 
this  in  a  spirit  of  true  kindness  it  were  well ;  but  a 
confirmed  grumbler  is  at  heart  so  thoroughly  selfish 
that  the  spirit  of  charity  is  utterly  foreign  to  his  com- 
plaints. Instead  of  earnest  endeavor  to  discover  and 
pattern  after  the  perfection  of  those  by  whom  they 
are  surrounded,  they  seem  bent  only  on  learning  the 
faults  of  others,  and  to  take  positive  pleasure  in  mak- 
ing them  public.  Such  a  spirit  only  displays  our  own 
weakness  ;  it  shows  to  all  keen  observers  that  we 
have  not  patience  enough  to  bear  with  our  neighbor's 
weakness.  It  defeats  its  own  ends,  and  instead  of 
exposing  the  faults  of  our  neighbors,  serves  only  to 
call  attention  to  our  own  irritable,  peevish,  unlovable 
disposition. 

It  is  an  unfailing  sign  of  moral  weakness  to  be 
constantly  giving  way  to  fitful  outbreaks  of  ill- 
temper.  Fools,  lunarians,  the  weak-minded,  and  the 
ignorant  are  irascible,  impatient,  and  possess  an  un- 
governable disposition ;  great  hearts  and  wise  are 
calm,  forgiving,  and  serene.  To  hear  one  perpetual 
round  of  complaint  and  murmuring,  to  have  every 


IRRITABILITY.  327 

pleasant  thought  scared  away  by  this  evil  spirit,  is  a 
sore  trial.  It  is,  like  the  sting  of  a  scorpion,  a  perpetual 
nettle  destroying  your  peace,  rendering  life  a  burden. 
Its  influence  is  deadly,  and  the  purest  and  sweetest 
atmosphere  is  contaminated  into  a  deadly  miasma 
wherever  this  evil  genius  prevails.  It  has  been  truly 
said  that,  while  we  ought  not  to  let  the  bad  temper 
of  others  influence  us,  it  would  be  as  reasonable  to 
spread  a  blister  upon  the  skin  and  not  expect  it  to 
draw,  as  to  think  a  family  not  suffering  because  of 
the  bad  temper  of  any  of  its  inmates.  One  string 
out  of  tune  will  destroy  the  music  of  an  instrument 
otherwise  perfect,  so  if  all  the  members  of  a  family 
do  not  cultivate  a  kind  and  affectionate  disposition 
there  will  be  discord  and  every  evil  work. 

To  say  the  least,  such  a  disposition  is  a  most  un- 
fortunate one.  It  bespeaks  littleness  of  soul  and  ig- 
norance of  mankind.  It  is  far  wiser  to  take  the 
more  charitable  view  of  our  fellow-men.  Life  takes 
its  hue  in  a  great  degree  from  the  color  of  our  own 
minds.  If  we  are  frank  and  generous  the  world  treats 
us  kindly.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we  are  suspicious,  men 
learn  to  be  cold  and  cautious  toward  us.  Let  a  per- 
son get  the  reputation  of  being  touchy,  and  every 
body  is  under  more  or  less  restraint  in  his  or  her 
presence.  The  people  who  fire  up  easily  miss  a  deal 
of  happiness.  Their  jaundiced  tempers  destroy  their 
own  comfort  as  well  as  that  of  their  friends.  They 
always  have  some  fancied  slight  to  brood  over.  The 
sunny,  serene  moments  of  less  selfish  dispositions 
never  visit  them.  True  wisdom  inculcates  the  neces. 


328  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

sity  of  self-control  in  all  instances.  Much  may  be 
affected  by  cultivation.  We  should  learn  to  command 
our  feelings,  and  act  prudently  in  all  the  ordinary 
concerns  of  life.  This  will  better  prepare  us  to  meet 
sudden  emergencies  with  calmness  and  fortitude. 


NVY  is  the  daughter    of  Pride,  the   author  of 
315  murder   and   revenge,    the   beginner   of  secret 

sedition,  and  the  perpetual  tormentor  of  virtue. 

Envy  is  the  slime  of  the  soul,  a  venom,  a 
poison  or  quicksilver,  which  consumeth  the  flesh  and 
dryeth  up  the  marrow  of  the  bones.  It  is  composed 
of  odious  ingredients,  in  which  are  found  meanness, 
vice,  and  malice,  in  about  equal  proportions.  It 
wishes  the  force  of  goodness  to  be  strained,  and  that 
the  measure  of  happiness  be  abated.  It  laments 
over  prosperity,  pines  at  the  visit  of  success,  is  sick 
at  the  sight  of  health.  Like  death,  it  loves  a  shining 
mark  ;  like  the  worm,  it  never  runs  but  to  the  fairest 
fruits  ;  like  a  cunning  bloodhound,  it  singles  out  the 
fattest  deer  in  the  flock. 

Envy  is  no  less  foolish  than  it  is  detestable.  It  is 
a  vice  which  keeps  no  holiday,  but  is  always  in  the 
wheel  and  working  out  its  own  disquiet.  It  loves 
darkness  rather  than  light,  because  its  deeds  are  evil. 
Scorpions  can  be  made  to  sting  themselves  to  death 
when  confined  within  a  circle  of  fire.  Even  such  is 


LNVY.  329 

envy ;  for  when  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the 
brightness  of  another's  prosperity  it  speedily  destroys 
itself.  He  whose  heart  is  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
envy  loseth  much  of  the  pleasures  of  life.  The  en- 
vious man  is  in  pain  upon  all  occasions  which  ought 
to  give  him  pleasure. 

It  were  not  possible  for  one  to  adopt  a  more  sui- 
cidal course  as  far  as  his  own  happiness  is  concerned. 
The  relish  of  his  life  is  inverted,  and  the  objects 
which  administer  the  highest  satisfaction  to  those 
who  are  exempt  from  this  passion  give  the  quickest 
pangs  to  those  subject  to  it.  As  when  we  look 
through  glasses  colored  all  objects  partake  of  the 
glasses'  color,  so  one  moved  and  influenced  by  envy 
sees  not  the  perfection  of  his  fellow-creatures,  but 
that  they  are  to  him  odious.  Youth,  beauty,  valor, 
and  wisdom  are,  to  their  perverted  view,  but  objects 
calculated  to  provoke  their  displeasure.  What  a 
wretched  and  apostate  state  is  this — to  be  offended 
with  excellence,  and  to  hate  a  man  because  we  ap- 
prove him !  Were  not  its  effects  so  disastrous  to 
personal  character,  the  fit  weapon  wherewith  to  meet 
it  were  the  ridicule  of  all  sensible  people.  But  the 
evil  is  too  deeply  seated  to  be  spoken  of  lightly.  As 
its  cause  is  situated  deep  in  the  character  of  the  in- 
dividual, so  its  effects  are  far-reaching  in  his  life. 

He  that  is  under  the  dominion  of  envy  can  not 
see  perfections.  He  is  so  blinded  that  he  is  always 
degrading  or  misrepresenting  things  which  are  ex- 
cellent. This  brings  out  strongly  the  difference  be- 
tween the  envious  man  and  him  who  is  moved  by  the 


330  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

spirit  of  benevolence.  The  envious  man  is  tormented, 
not  only  by  all  the  ills  that  befall  himself,  but  by  all 
the  good  that  happens  to  another  ;  whereas  the  be- 
nevolent man  is  better  prepared  to  bear  his  own 
calamities  unruffled,  from  the  complacency  and  seren- 
ity he  has  secured  from  contemplating  the  prosperity 
of  all  around  him.  For  the  man  of  true  benevo- 
lence the  sun  of  happiness  must  be  totally  eclipsed 
before  it  can  be  darkness  around  him.  But  the  envi- 
ous man  is  made  gloomy,  not  only  by  his  own  cloud 
of  sorrow,  but  by  the  sunshine  around  the  heart  of 
another. 

Other  passions  have  objects  to  flatter  them,  and 
seem  to  content  and  satisfy  them  for  a  while.  There 
is  power  in  ambition,  pleasure  in  luxury,  and  pelf  in 
covetousness  ;  but  envy  can  give  nothing  but  vexa- 
tion. Envy  is  so  base  and  detestable,  so  vile  in  its 
origin,  and  so  pernicious  in  its  effects,  that  the  pre- 
dominance of  almost  any  other  quality  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred. It  is  a  passion  so  full  of  cowardice  and 
shame  that  nobody  ever  had  the  confidence  to  own 
it.  Me  that  envieth  maketh  another  man's  virtue 
his  vice,  and  another  man's  happiness  his  torment  ; 
whereas  he  that  rejoiceth  at  the  prosperity  of  another 
is  partaker  of  the  same. 

Envy  is  a  sentiment  that  desires  to  equal,  or 
excel,  the  efforts  of  its  compeers,  not  so  much  by  in- 
creasing our  own  toil  and  ingenuity  as  by  diminishing 
the  merits  due  to  the  efforts  of  others.  It  seeks  to 
elevate  itself  by  the  degradation  of  others  ;  it  detests 
the  sound  of  another's  praise,  and  deems  no  renown 


ENVY.  331 

acceptable  that  must  be  shared.  Hence,  when  dis- 
appointments occur,  they  fall  with  unrelieved  violence, 
and  the  consciousness  of  discomfited  rivalry  gives 
poignancy  to  the  blow.  Whoever  feels  pain  in  learn- 
ing the  good  character  of  his  neighbors  will  feel  a 
pleasure  in  the  reverse;  and  those  who  despair  to 
rise  to  distinction  by  their  virtues  are  happy  if  others 
can  be  depressed  to  a  level  with  themselves. 

Envy  is  so  cruel  in  its  pursuit  that,  when  once 
hounded  on,  it  rests  not  till  the  grave  closes  over  its 
victim.  There  is  a  secure  refuge  against  defamation, 
and  one  redeeming  trait  of  human  nature  is  that  there 
every  man's  well-earned  honors  defend  him  against 
calumny.  Honors  bestowed  upon  the  illust^us  dead 
have  in  them  no  admixture  of  envy ;  but  these  are 
about  the  only  kind  of  honors  administered  free  from 
envy.  Though  the  fact  is  to  be  deeply  lamented,  it 
is  unfortunately  true,  that  such  is  the  perversion  of 
the  human  heart  that  ofttimes  the  only  reward  of 
those  whose  merits  have  raised  them  above  the  com- 
mon level  is  to  acquire  the  hatred  and  aversion  of 
their  compeers.  He  who  would  acquire  lasting  fame, 
and  would  be  remembered  as  one  who  did  his  duty 
well,  must  resolve  to  submit  to  the  shafts  of  envy 
for  the  sake  of  noble  objects. 

Envy  is  a  weed  that  grows  in  all  soils  and  cli- 
mates, and  is  no  less  luxuriant  in  the  country  than 
in  the  court.  It  is  not  confined  to  any  rank  of  men 
or  extent  of  fortune,  but  rages  in  the  breast  of  those 
of  every  degree.  We  are  as  apt  to  find  it  in  the 
humble  walks  of  life  as  in  the  proud ;  as  much  in  the 


332  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

sordid,  affected  dress  as  in  all  the  silks  and  embroid- 
eries which  the  excess  of  age  and  folly  of  youth  de- 
light to  be  adorned  with.  Since,  then,  it  keeps  all 
sorts  of  company,  and  infuses  itself  into  the  most 
contrary  natures  and  dispositions,  and  yet  carries  so 
much  poison  and  venom  with  it  that  it  ruins  any  life 
in  which  it  finds  lodgment — alienating  the  affections 
from  heaven,  and  raising  aebellion  against  God  him- 
self— it  is  worth  our  utmost  care  to  watch  it  in  all 
its  disguises  and  approaches,  that  we  may  dis- 
cover it  at  its  first  entrance,  and  dislodge  it  before 
it  procures  a  shelter  to  conceal  itself,  and  work  to 
our  confusion  and  shame. 


"Thinkest  thou  the  man  whose  mansions  hold 
The  worldling's  pomp  and  miser's  gold 

Obtains  a  richer  prize 
Than  he  who,  in  his  cot  at  rest, 
Finds  heavenly  peace  a  willing  guest, 
And  bears  the  promise  in  his  breast 
Of  treasures  in  the  skies  ?" 

— MRS.  SIGOURNEY. 

|HE  lot  of  the  discontented  is,  indeed,  wretched; 
and  truly  miserable  are  those  who  live  but  to 
repine  and  lament,  who  have  less  resolution 
to  resent  than  to  complain,  or  else,  mingling 
resentment  and  complaint  together,  perceive  no  har- 
mony and  happiness  around  them.  They  discover 


DISCONTENT.  333 

in  the  bounty  and  beauty  of  nature  nothing  to  admire, 
and  in  the  virtues  and  capabilities  of  man  nothing  to 
love  and  respect.  A  contented  mind  sees  something 
good  in  every  thing,  and  in  every  wind  sees  a  sign  of 
fair  weather;  but  a  discontented  spirit  distorts  and 
misconstrues  all  things,  resolutely  refusing  to  see 
aught  but  ill  in  its  surroundings. 

The  spirit  of  discontent  is  very  unfortunate ;  it  is 
even  worse,  for  it  is  wicked  as  well  as  weak.  The 
very  entertainment  of  the  thought  is  enervating,  par- 
alyzing, destructive  of  all  that  is  worthy  of  success, 
in  the  present  business  of  the  entertainer.  To  ac- 
complish any  thing  beyond  what  the  common  run  of 
business  or  professional  men  perform  requires  the 
utmost  concentration  of  the  mind  on  the  matter  in 
hand.  There  is  no  room  in  the  thoughts  for  repining 
over  the  misfortunes  of  one's  self,  or  wishes  for  an 
exchange  of  places  with  another.  Indeed,  it  might 
be  truthfully  predicated  that  the  indulgers  of  such 
wishes  would  fail  utterly  in  the  new  sphere,  could 
they  achieve  their  desires. 

Nearly  every  one  we  meet  wishes  to  be  what  he 
is  not,  and  every  man  thinks  his  neighbor's  lot  hap- 
pier than  his  own.  Through  all  the  ramifications  of 
society  all  are  complaining  of  their  condition,  find- 
ing fault  with  their  particular  calling.  "If  I  were 
only  this,  or  that,  or  the  other,  I  should  be  content," 
is  the  universal  cry.  Open  the  door  to  one  discon- 
tented wish  and  you  know  not  how  many  will  follow.. 
The  boy  apes  the  man;  the  man  affects  the  wayr 
of  boyhood.  The  sailor  envies  the  landsman;  the 


334  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

landsman  goes  to  sea  for  pleasure.  The  business 
man  who  has  to  travel  about  wishes  for  the  day  to 
come  when  he  can  "settle  down,"  whilst  the  seden- 
tary man  is  always  wanting  a  chance  to  flit  about 
and  travel,  which  he  thinks  would  be  his  greatest 
pleasure.  Town  people  think  the  country  glorious; 
country  people  are  always  wishing  that  they  might 
live  in  town. 

We  are  told  that  it  is  one  property  required  of 
those  who  seek  the  philosopher's  stone  that  they 
must  not  do  it  with  any  covetous  desire  to  be  rich,  for 
otherwise  they  shall  never  find  it.  But  most  true  it 
is,  that  whosoever  would  have  this  jewel  of  content- 
ment (which  turns  all  into  gold  ;  yea,  want  into 
wealth),  must  come  with  minds  divested  of  all  ambi- 
tious and  covetous  thoughts,  else  they  are  never 
likely  to  obtain  it.  The  foundation  of  content  must 
spring  up  in  a  man's  own  mind,  and  he  who  has  so 
little  knowledge  of  human  nature  as  to  seek  happi 
ness  by  changing  aught  but  his  own  disposition  will 
waste  his  life  in  fruitless  efforts,  and  multiply  the 
griefs  which  he  proposes  to  remove. 

Contentment  is  felicity.  Few  are  the  real  wants 
of  man.  Like  a  majority  of  his  troubles  they  are 
more  imaginary  than  real.  If  the  world  knew  how 
much  felicity  dwells  in  the  cottage  of  the  poor,  but 
contented,  man — how  sound  he  sleeps,  how  quiet  his 
rest,  how  composed  his  mind,  how  free  from  care, 
and  how  joyful  his  heart — they  would  never  more 
admire  the  noises  and  diseases,  the  throngs  of  pas- 
sions, and  the  violence  of  unnatural  appetites  that 


DISCONTENT.  335 

fill  the  houses  of  the  luxurious,  and  the  hearts  of 
the  ambitious. 

Enjoy  the  blessings  if  God  sends  them,  and  the 
evils  of  it  bear  patiently  and  sweetly,  for  this  day  is 
ours.  Always  something  of  good  can  yet  be  found, 
however  apparently  hopeless  the  situation.  There  is 
scarcely  any  lot  so  low  but  there  is  something  in  it 
to  satisfy  the  man  whom  it  has  befallen,  Providence 
having  so  ordered  things  that  in  every  man's  cup, 
how  bitter  soever,  there  are  some  cordial  drops — 
some  good  circumstances — which,  if  wisely  extracted, 
are  sufficient  for  the  purpose  he  wants  them  — 
that  is,  to  make  him  contented  and,  if  not  happy, 
resigned. 

Contentment  often  abides  with  little,  and  rarely 
dwells  with  abundance.  "Peace  and  few  things  are 
preferable  to  great  professions  and  great  cares." 
Such  was  the  maxim  of  the  Stoics.  Nature  teaches 
us  to  live,  but  wisdom  teaches  us  to  live  contented. 
Contentment  is  the  wealth  of  nature,  for  it  gives 
every  thing  we  either  want  or  need.  A  quiet  and 
contented  mind  is  the  supreme  good ;  it  is  the  utmost 
felicity  a  man  is  capable  of  in  this  world;  and  the 
maintaining  of  such  an  uninterrupted  tranquillity  of 
spirit  is  the  very  crown  and  glory  of  wisdom.  The 
point  of  aim  for  our  vigilance  to  hold  in  view  is  to 
dwell  upon  the  brightest  parts  in  every  prospect,  to 
call  off  the  thoughts  when  running  upon  disagreeable 
objects,  and  strive  to  be  pleased  with  the  present 
circumstances  surrounding  us. 

Half  the  discontent  in  the  world  arises  from  men 


336  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

regarding  themselves  as  centers  instead  of  the  infin- 
itesimal elements  of  circles.  When  you  feel  dis- 
satisfied with  your  circumstances  contemplate  the 
condition  of  those  beneath  you.  One  who  wielded 
as  much  influence  as  was  possible  in  this  republic  of 
ours  says:  "There  are  minds  which  can  be  pleased 
by  honors  and  preferments,  but  I  can  see  nothing  in 
them  save  envy  and  enmity.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
possess  them  to  know  how  little  they  contribute  to 
happiness.  I  had  rather  be  in  a  cottage  with  my 
books,  my  family,  and  a  few  old  friends,  dining  upon 
simple  bacon  and  hominy,  and  letting  the  world  roll 
on  as  it  likes,  than  to  occupy  the  highest  place  which 
human  power  can  give." 

Some  make  the  sorry  mistake  of  confounding 
under  the  term  contentment  that  fatal  lack  of  energy 
which  repels  all  efforts  for  the  improvement  of  one's 
condition.  Improvement  can  only  be  won  by  contin- 
uous efforts  for  advancement,  and  a  true  contentment 
is  not  to  rest  satisfied,  to  hope  for  nothing,  to  strive 
for  nothing,  or  to  rest  in  inglorious  ease,  doing  noth- 
ing for  your  own  or  other's  intellectual  or  moral 
good.  Such  a  state  of  feeling  is  only  allowable 
where  nature  has  fixed  an  impassable  and  well-as- 
certained barrier  to  all  further  progress,  or  where  we 
are  troubled  by  ills  past  remedying.  In  such  cases 
it  is  the  highest  philosophy  not  to  fret  or  grumble 
when,  by  all  our  worrying,  we  can  not  help  ourselves 
a  jot  or  tittle,  but  only  aggravate  an  affliction  that  is 
incurable.  To  soothe  the  mind  to  patience  is,  then, 
the  only  resource  left  us,  and  thrice  happy  is  he  whc 


DISCONTENT.  337 

has  thus  schooled  himself  to  meet  all  reverses  and 
disappointments. 

When  ills  admit  of  a  remedy  it  is  the  veriest 
sarcasm  upon  contentment  to  bid  you  suffer  them. 
It  is  a  mockery  of  content  not  to  strive  to  improve 
your  condition  as  much  as  possible.  True  content- 
ment bids  you  be  content  with  what  you  have,  not 
with  what  you  are ;  not  to  be  sighing  and  wishing 
for  things  unattainable,  but  to  cheerfully  and  con- 
tentedly accept  the  facts  of  your  position,  and  then, 
if  the  way  opens  for  improvement,  to  accept  it  at 
once;  not  to  sit  moping  over  your  ill  luck  and  many 
misfortunes,  but,  having  done  the  best  you  can,  rest 
content  with  the  result;  not  to  be  murmuring  be- 
cause your  lines  are  not  cast  in  as  pleasant  places 
as  your  neighbor's,  but  strive  to  discover  the  pleas- 
ures and  happiness  to  be  found  in  your  present  con- 
dition, and  with  a  manly  and  contented  spirit  dwell 
therein  until  providence  opens  a  more  excellent  way,, 
when  it  is  your  duty  to  embrace  it.  But  do  not 
make  the  fatal  mistake  of  hiding  behind  the  word 
contentment  your  lack  of  energy  and  pluck. 

Contentment  is  the  true  gold  which  passes  cur- 
rent among  the  wise  the  world  over,  while  supine 
satisfaction  is  but  the  base  counterfeit  of  the  nobler 
metal,  and  brings  its  possessor  into  scorn  and  con- 
tempt. 


33S  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


DECEIT  and  falsehood,  whatever  conveniences 
they  may  for  a  time  promise  or  produce,  are 
in  the  sum  of  life  obstacles  to  happiness. 
Those  who  profit  by  the  cheat  distrust  the  de- 
ceiver, and  the  act  by  which  kindness  was  sought 
puts  an  end  to  confidence.  Nothing"  can  compete 
with  human  deceitfulness.  Its  origin  is  always  to  be 
found  in  the  motives  of  those  who  are  actuated  only 
by  a  spirit  of  thorough  selfishness.  When  men  have 
some  pers'onal  end  to  accomplish,  then  is  seen  the 
full  flower  of  deceit.  When  they  have  some  enemy, 
opponent,  or  rival  to  punish,  then  deceit  puts  on  its 
most  sturdy  appearance. 

That  form  of  deceit  which  is  cunningly  laid  and 
unworthily  carried  on  under  the  disguise  of  friend- 
ship is,  of  all  others,  the  most  detestable.  There 
can  be  no  greater  treachery  than  first  to  raise  a  con- 
fidence, and  then  deceive  it.  A  man  can  not  be 
justified  in  deceiving,  misleading,  or  overreaching 
his  neighbors.  Still  less,  then,  is  he  justified  in  in- 
spiring confidence  by  smooth  words  and  a  gracious 
manner,  only  that  he  may  further  his  own  selfish 
end  by  breaking  the  trust  placed  in  him.  Nothing 
can  be  more  unjust  than  to  play  upon  the  belief  of  a 
confiding  person,  to  make  him  suffer  for  his  good 
opinion,  and  fare  the  worse  for  thinking  you  an 
honest  man. 

A  course  of  deception  always  defeats  the  true  end 


DECEPTION.  339 

of  society.  Society  is  a  great  compact  designed  to 
promote  the  good  of  man,  and  to  elevate  him  in  dig- 
nity, refinement,  and  intelligence.  But  too  often  it  is 
understood  solely  as  a  cunning  contrivance  to  palm 
off  unreal  virtues  and  to  conceal  real  defects.  Dig- 
nity is  too  often  only  pretension,  refinement  an 
artificial  gloss,  and  intelligence  only  verbal  display, 
based  upon  knowledge  barely  sufficient  to  make  a 
show.  All  is  vanity  and  disguises,  empty  mockeries 
and  hollow-hearted  nullities.  But  the  heart  of  man 
is  such  a  sorry  mixture  of  good  and  bad  that  we  are 
only  too  willing  to  urge  on  the  race,  striving  to  see 
who  can  be  the  most  deceitful  of  all.  Those  whom 
we  live  with  are  like  actors  on  a  stage;  they  assume 
whatever  dress  and  appearance  may  suit  their  pres- 
ent purpose,  and  they  speak  and  act  in  keeping  with 
this  character. 

Man  is  as  naturally  set  on  ambition  as  the  bee  is 
to  gather  honey.  In  the  mad  haste  to  stand  well  in 
the  eyes  of  the  public  and  third  parties,  they  are 
prone  to  assume  any  disguise  or  counterfeit  any  vir- 
tue by  which  they  may  accomplish  their  selfish  ends. 
They  are  afraid  of  slight  outward  acts  which  will  in- 
jure them  in  the  eyes  of  others,  but  are  utterly  heed- 
less of  the  tide  of  evil,  of  hatred,  jealousy,  and 
revenge,  which  throb  in  their  souls  to  their  own 
condemnation  and  shame.  They  are  more  troubled 
by  the  outward  and  external  effects  of  an  evil  course 
of  life  than  by  the  evil  itself.  It  is  the  love  of  appro- 
bation and  not  the  conscience  that  enacts  the  part  of 
a  moral  sense  in  this  case. 


340  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Though  a  man  may  never  give  them  outward  ex- 
pression, still,  if  he  harbors  in  his  breast  all  manner 
of  evil  thoughts,  they  will  be  potent  in  shaping  his 
character.  Though  he  may  disguise  them  by  artful 
words  and  a  gracious  bearing,  still  they  are  there, 
and  their  effect  is  as  direful  as  though  their  expres 
sion  was  open  and  plain  to  all.  Society  at  large  may 
be  less  injured  by  the  latent  existence  of  evil  than  by 
its  public  expression ;  but  the  man  himself  is  as  much 
injured  by  the  cherished  thoughts  of  evil  as  by  the 
open  commission  of  it,  and  sometimes  even  more. 
For  evil  brought  out  ceases  to  disguise  itself,  and  ap- 
pears as  hideous  as  it  is  in  reality  ;  but  the  evil  that 
lurks  and  glances  through  the  soul  avoids  analysis 
and  evades  detection. 

Hypocrisy  and  deception  are  so  near  akin  to  each 
other  that  you  can  not  wound  the  one  without  touch- 
ing the  sensibilities  of  the  other.  A  hypocrite  lives 
in  society  in  the  same  apprehension  as  the  thief  who 
lies  concealed  in  the  midst  of  the  family  he  is  to  rob, 
for  he  fancies  himself  perceived  when  he  is  least  so; 
every  motion  alarms  him ;  he  is  suspicious  that  every 
one  who  enters  the  room  knows  where  he  is  hid  and 
is  coming  to  seize  him.  Thus,  as  nothing  hates  so 
valiantly  as  fear,  many  an  innocent  person  who  sus- 
pects no  evil  intended  him  is  detested  by  him  who 
intends  it. 

This  multitudinous  vice  of  deception  takes  on 
many  forms.  Hypocrisy  is  but  one,  though  it  is  per- 
haps as  much  detested  as  any.  But  it  is  a  lamentable 
fact  that  scarcely  any  thing  is  really  what  it  is  repre- 


DECEPTION.  341 

sented  to  be.  As  there  are  so  many  strange  anoma- 
lies in  human  nature,  we  are  not  surprised  when  we 
discover  the  shallowness  of  so  many  apparently  sin- 
cere pretensions,  the  worthlessness  of  what  appears 
so  fair.  When  it  is  all  carefully  summed  up,  it  is 
found  always  easier  to  be  than  merely  appear  to  be. 
He  who  pretends  to  great  acquirements  is  worse  put 
to  it  to  conceal  his  ignorance  than  would  have  sufficed 
to  have  made  him  master  of  many  sciences. 

Those  who  strive  by  outward  appearances  to 
carry  an  impression  of  wealth  and  station  beyond 
their  real  income  are  compelled,  by  their  lavish  ex- 
penditures in  aid  of  the  deception,  to  a  strict  economy 
in  seclusion,  whereas,  were  they  content  to  exercise  a 
judicious  economy  at  all  times,  they  would  soon  be 
placed  in  that  position  they  so  much  long  for.  As  for 
the  hypocrite,  surely  this  is  the  most  foolish  deception 
of  all,  since  the  hypocrite  is  at  pains  to  put  on  the 
appearance  of  virtue,  he  pretends  to  morality,  to  pure 
friendship  and  esteem,  and  is  more  anxious  that  his 
outward  walk  and  conversation  shall  savor  of  these 
virtues  than  if  he  were  at  heart  possessed  of  them. 

Since,  then,  a  course  of  deception  puts  us  to 
more  straits  than  ever  the  open  course,  is  it  not 
true,  then,  in  every-day  life  as  well  as  individual 
acts,  "honesty  is  the  best  policy?"  Why  pur- 
chase the  base  imitation  of  noble  virtues,  and  de- 
rive from  them  naught  but  ridicule  and  dislike,  when 
no  greater  outlay  would  procure-  for  us  the  true 
metals,  which  bring  peace  of  mind  and  the  honor 
and  esteem  of  all. 


342  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


*E  all  of  us  scorn  a  busybody,  and  scarcely 
have  words  of  contempt  strong  enough  to  ex 
press  our  feelings  towards  one  who  is  con 
stantly  meddling  in  what  in  no  way  concerns 
him.  There  are  some  persons  so  unfortunately  dis- 
posed that  they  can  not  rest  easy  until  they  have 
investigated  their  neighbors'  business  in  all  of  its 
bearings,  and  even  neglect  their  own  to  attend  to  his. 
This  trait  of  character  is  directly  allied  to  envy 
on  the  one  hand  and  to  slander  on  the  other.  Envy 
incites  in  us  a  desire  to  possess  the  good  fortune 
that  we  discover  falling  to  others.  Meddling  is  sat- 
isfied when  it  discovers  all  the  minutiae  of  others9 
affairs,  and  may  be  so  utterly  devoid  of  energy  as  "o 
care  but  little  whether  it  can  acquire  the  good  or  net. 
Meddling  is  directly  incited  by  egotism ;  for  that  un- 
fortunately leads  not  only  to  undue  confidence  in 
one's  own  abilities,  but,  what  is  worse,  to  a  feeling 
that  you  are  a  little  better  able  to  attend  to  the  affairs 
of  others  than  they  themselves. 

Slander,  too,  oft  takes  its  rise  in  the  curious 
busyings  of  those  who  are  interfering  where  there  is 
no  call  for  their  services.  There  is  such  a  tendency 
in  human  nature  to  flaunt  abroad  the  faults  of  others, 
that  no  sooner  does  one  who  systematically  inter- 
meddles, discover  .some  failing — and  he  or  she  is  sure 
to  do  this,  since  it  is  human  to  err — than  they 
straightway  hasten  to  lay  before  others  the  fruits 


INTERMEDDLING.  343 

of  their  investigations.  And  thus  is  given  to  the 
public  the  petty  defects  of  some  home  life,  which, 
by  constant  repetition,  soon  assumes  gigantic  size, 
as  snow-balls  rolled  over  and  over  by  boys  ;  and  so, 
at  length,  the  happiness  of  some  home  circle  is  de 
stroyed  by  the  malicious  and  poison-giving  officious- 
ness  of  busybodies. 

Neglecting  our  own  affairs  and  meddling  with 
those  of  others  is  the  source  of  many  troubles. 
Those  who  blow  the  coals  of  others'  strife  may 
chance  to  have  the  sparks  fly  in  their  own  face.  We 
think  more  of  ourselves  than  of  others,  but  some- 
times more  for  others  than  ourselves.  People  are 
often  incited  to  meddling  by  the  desire  of  having 
"something  to  tell;"  but,  if  you  notice,  they  are  but 
narrow-minded  and  ignorant  people,  who  talk  about 
persons  and  not  things.  Mere  gossip  is  always  a 
personal  confession  either  of  malice  or  imbecility,  and 
the  refined  should  not  only  shun  it,  but  by  the  most 
.thorough  culture  relieve  themselves  of  all  temptation 
to  indulge  in  it.  It  is  a  low,  frivolous,  and  too  often 
a  dirty  business.  There  are  neighborhoods  in  which 
it  rages  like  a  pest.  Churches  are  split  in  pieces 
by  it ;  neighbors  are  made  enemies  by  it  for  life.  In 
many  persons  it  degenerates  into  a  chronic  disease, 
which  is  practically  incurable.  Be  on  your  guard 
against  contracting  so  pernicious  a  habit. 

A  person  who  constantly  meddles  means  to  do 
harm,  and  is  not  sorry  to  find  he  has  succeeded.  He 
is  a  treacherous  supplanter  and  underminer  of  the 
peace  of  all  families  and  societies.  This  being  a 


344  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

maxim  of  unfailing  truth,  that  nobody  ever  pries  into 
another  man's  concerns  but  with  a  design  to  do,  or 
to  be  able  to  do,  him  a  mischief.  His  tongue,  like 
the  tails  of  Samson's  foxes,  carries  firebrands,  and  is 
enough  to  set  the  whole  field  of  the  world  in  a  flame, 
To  meddle  with  another's  privileges  and  prerogatives 
is  vexatious  ;  to  meddle  with  his  interests  is  injurious  ; 
to  meddle  with  his  good  name  unites  and  aggravates 
both  evils. 

There  is,  perhaps,  not  a  more  odious  character  in 
the  world  than  a  go-between,  by  which  we  mean  the 
creature  who  carries  to  the  ear  of  one  neighbor  every 
injurious  observation  that  happens  to  drop  from  the 
mouth  of  another.  Such  a  person  is  the  slanderer's 
herald,  and  is  altogether  more  odious  than  the  slan- 
derer himself.  By  this  vile  officioiisness  he  makes 
that  poison  effective  which  else  would  be  inert ;  for 
three-fourths  of  the  slanderers  in  the  world  would 
never  injure  their  object  except  by  the  malice  of  go- 
betweens,  who,  under  the  mask  of  a  double  friend- 
ship, act  the  part  of  a  double  traitor.  The  less 
business  a  man  has  of  his  own,  the  more  he  attends 
to  the  business  of  his  neighbors. 

Do  not  cultivate  curiosity  ;  every  man  has  in  his 
own  life  follies  enough,  in  his  own  mind  troubles 
enough,  in  the  performance  of  his  own  duties  diffi- 
culties enough,  without  being  curious  about  the  affairs 
of  others.  Of  all  the  faculties  of  the  human  mind, 
curiosity  is  that  which  is  most  fruitful  or  the  most 
barren  in  effective  results,  according  as  it  is  well  or 
badly  directed.  The  curiosity  of  an  honorable  man 


INTERMEDDLING.  345 

willingly  rests  where  the  love  of  truth  does  not  urge 
it  further  onward,  and  the  love  of  his  neighbor  bids 
it  stop.  In  other  words,  it  willingly  stops  at  the 
point  where  the  interests  of  truth  do  not  beckon  it 
onward  and  charity  cries  halt.  But  the  busybody  in 
others'  affairs  is  not  apt  to  hold  his  curiosity  in  such 
reasonable  limits.  The  slightest  appearance  of  mys- 
tery is  sufficient  to  incite  them  to  great  exertions  in 
endeavor  to  gratify  a  curiosity  as  idle  as  it  is  useless, 
and  entirely  out  of  his  business. 

A  meddler  in  the  affairs  of  others  is  seldom 
moved  by  the  spirit  of  charity.  He  is  not  curious  to 
discover  where  he  can  lend  a  hand  of  assistance. 
If  such  were  the  case,  it  were  a  trait  to  be  admired 
rather  than  despised ;  but,  allied  as  it  is  to  envy  and 
slander,  to  idle  curiosity  and  inquisitiveness,  it  can 
but  be  detested  by  all  honest  seekers  for  others' 
good,  and  shunned  by  the  truly  enlightened  and  re- 
fined. And  if  one  would  be  honored  and  respected, 
he  will  strive  to  be  as  free  from  the  spirit  of  meddling 
as  possible.  He  will  relegate  that  to  the  low  and 
frivolous,  and  respect  himself  too  highly  to  be  classed 
among  them. 


346  GOLDEN  OEMS  OF  LIFE. 


*NGER  is  the  most  impotent   passion  that   ac- 
companies the  mind  of  man.     It  affects  nothing 
it  sets  about,  and  hurts  the  man  who  is  pos- 
sessed by  it  more  than  the  other  against  whom 
it  is  directed. 

The  disadvantages  arising  from  anger,  which  are  its 
unfailing  concomicants  under  all  circumstances,  should 
prove  a  panacea  for  the  complaint.  In  moments  of  cool 
reflection  the  man  who  indulges  it  views  with  a  deep 
disgust  the  desolation  wrought  by  passion.  Friend- 
ship, domestic  happiness,  self-respect,  the  esteem  of 
others,  are  swept  away  as  by  a  whirlwind,  and  one 
brief  fit  of  anger  sometimes  suffices  to  lay  in  wreck 
the  home  happiness  which  years  have  been  cementing 
together.  What  crimes  have  not  been  committed  in 
the  paroxysms  of  anger!  Has  not  the  friend  mur- 
dered his  friend?  the  son  massacred  his  parent?  the 
creature  blasphemed  his  Creator.  When,  indeed, 
the  nature  of  this  passion  is  considered  what  crimes 
may  it  not  commit?  Is  it  not  the  storm  of  the 
human  mind  which  wrecks  every  better  affection — 
wrecks  reason  and  conscience,  and,  as  a  ship  driven 
without  helm  or  compass  before  the  rushing  gale,  is 
not  the  mind  borne  away  without  guide  or  govern- 
ment by  the  tempest  of  unbounded  rage? 

•  To  be  angry  about  trifles  is  low  and  childish  ;  to 
rage  and  be  furious  is  brutish ;  and  to  maintain  per- 
petual wrath  is  akin  to  the  practice  and  temper  of 


ANGER.  347 

devils.  The  round  of  a  passionate  man's  life  is  in 
contracting  future  debts  in  his  passionate  moments 
which  he  may  have  to  pay  in  the  future,  and  when  it 
is  most  inconvenient  to  make  payment.  He  spends 
his  time  in  outrage  and  acknowledgment,  in  injury 
and  reparation ;  for  anger  begins  in  folly,  but  ends 
in  repentance.  Anger  may  be  looked  for  in  the 
character  of  weak-minded  people,  children  not  yet 
learned  to  govern  themselves,  and  those  who,  for 
any  reason,  are  not  expected  to  have  full  command 
over  their  faculties ;  but  no  sensible  man  or  woman 
in  the  full  possession  of  their  powers  will  suffer  the 
degradation  of  allowing  themselves  to  be  overcome 
by  anger  without  afterwards  experiencing  the  utmost 
mortification. 

A  passionate  temper  renders  a  man  unfit  for  ad- 
vice, deprives  him  of  his  reason,  robs  him  of  all  that 
is  really  great  or  noble  in  his  nature;  it  makes  him 
unfit  for  conversation,  destroys  friendship,  changes 
justice  into  cruelty,  and  turns  all  order  into  confu- 
sion. Man  was  born  to  reason,  to  reflection,  and  to 
do  all  things  quietly  and  in  order.  Anger  takes  from 
him  this  prerogative,  transforms  his  manship  into 
childish  petulance,  his  reasoning  powers  into  brute 
instinct.  Consider,  then,  how  much  more  you  often 
suffer  from  your  anger  than  from  those  things  for 
which  you  are  angry.  Consider,  further,  whether 
that  for  which  you  give  way  to  angry  outbreaks  is 
my  fit  compensation  whatever  for  the  degradation 
and  loss  you  suffer  by  giving  way  to  passion. 

No  man  is  obliged  to  live  so  free  from  passion  as 


348  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

not  to  show  some  sentiment ;  on  fit  occasions  it  were 
rather  stoical  stupidity  than  virtue  to  do  otherwise. 
There  are  times  and  occasions  when  the  expression 
of  indignation  is  not  only  justifiable  but  necessary. 
We  are  bound  to  be  indignant  at  falsehood,  selfish 
ness,  and  cruelty.  A  man  of  true  feeling  fires  up 
naturally  at  baseness  or  meanness  of  any  sort,  even 
in  cases  where  he  may  be  under  no  obligation  to 
speak  out.  But  then  his  anger  is  as  reasonable  in 
its  outward  expression  as  in  its  origin. 

We  must,  however,  be  careful  how  we  indulge  in 
virtuous  indignation.  It  is  the  handsome  brother  of 
anger  and  hatred.  Anger  may  glance  into  the  breast 
of  a  wise  man,  but  rests  only  in  the  bosom  of  fools. 
A  wise  man  hath  no  more  anger  than  is  necessary  to 
show  that  he  can  apprehend  the  first  wrong,  nor  any 
more  revenge  than  justly  to  prevent  a  second. 

If  anger  proceeds  from  a  great  cause  it  turns  to 
fury ;  if  from  a  small  cause  it  is  peevishness ;  and  so 
it  is  always  either  terrible  or  ridiculous.  Sinful  an- 
ger, when  it  becomes  strong,  is  called  wrath;  when 
it  makes  outrage  it  is  fury ;  when  it  becomes  fixed  it 
is  termed  hatred ;  and  when  it  intends  to  injure  any 
one  it  is  called  malice.  All  these  wicked  passions 
spring  from  anger.  The  intoxication  of  anger,  like 
that  of  the  grape,  shows  us  to  others,  but  conceals 
us  from  ourselves,  and  we  injure  our  own  cause  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world  when  we  too  passionately  and 
eagerly  defend  it. 

There  is  many  a  man  whose  tongue  might  govern 
multitudes  if  he  could  only  govern  his  tongue.  He 


ANGEE.  349 

is  the  man  of  power  who  controls  the  storms  and 
tempests  of  his  mind.  How  sweet  the  serenity  of 
habitual  self-control!  How  many  stinging  self-re- 
proaches it  spares  us !  When  does  a  man  feel  more 
at  ease  with  himself  than  when  he  has  passed  through 
a  sudden  and  strong  provocation  without  speaking  a 
word,  or  in  undisturbed  good  humor?  When,  on 
the  contrary,  does  he  feel  a  deeper  humiliation  than 
when  he  is  conscious  that  anger  has  made  him  be- 
tray himself?  How  many  there  are  who  check  pas- 
sion with  passion,  and  are  very  angry  in  reproving 
anger!  Thus  to  lay  one  devil  they  raise  another, 
and  leave  more  work  to  be  done  than  they  found 
undone.  Such  a  reproof  of  anger  is  a  vice  to  be 
reproved.  Reproof  either  hardens  or  softens  its  ob- 
ject. The  sword  of  reproof  should  be  drawn  against 
the  offense  and  not  against  the  offender. 

It  is  not  falling  in  the  water,  but  remaining  in  it, 
that  drowns  a  man.  So  it  is  not  the  possession  of 
a  strong  and  hasty  temper,  but  the  submission  to  it, 
that  produces  the  evils  incident  to  anger.  In  no 
other  way  does  a  man  show  genuine  nobility  more 
than  in  resolutely  holding  his  temper  subject  to  rea- 
son. In  no  other  way  can  he  so  effectually  attain 
success,  for  a  strong  temper  indicates  a  good  amount 
of  energy;  passion  serves  to  dissipate  this,  so  that 
its  good  effects  are  not  perceived;  whereas,  under 
the  guiding  reins  of  self-control,  this  energy  is  gath- 
ered into  a  "central  glow,"  which  renders  success  in 
any  predetermined  line  not  only  a  possibility  but  a 
very  probable  sequence. 


350  GOLDES  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


IHERE  is  a  large  element  of  deception  in  all 
ambitious  schemes,  for  ofttimes,  when  at  the 
summit  of  ambition,  one  is  at  the  depths  of 
despair,  and  the  showy  results  of  a  successful 
pursuit  of  ambition  are  sometimes  but  gilded  misery, 
the  casing  of  despair.  The  history  of  ambition  is 
written  in  characters  of  blood.  It  may  be  designated 
as  one  of  the  vices  of  small  minds,  illiberal  and  un- 
acquainted with  mankind.  It  is  a  solitary  vice.  The 
road  ambition  travels  is  too  narrow  for  friendship,  too 
crooked  for  love,  too  rugged  for  honesty,  too  dark 
for  science,  and  too  hilly  for  happiness. 

Those  who  pursue  ambition  as  a  means  of  happi- 
ness awake  to  a  far  different  reality.  The  wear  and 
tear  of  hearts  is  never  recompensed.  It  steals  away 
the  freshness  of  life ;  it  deadens  its  vivid  and  social 
enjoyments ;  it  shuts  our  souls  to  our  own  youth, 
and  we  are  old  ere  we  remember  that  we  have  made 
a  fever  and  a  labor  of  our  raciest  years.  The  hap- 
piness promised  by  ambition  dissolves  in  sorrow  just 
as  we  are  about  to  grasp  it.  It  makes  the  same 
mistake  concerning  power  that  avarice  makes  con- 
cerning wealth.  She  begins  by  accumulating  power 
as  a  means  of  happiness,  but  she  finishes  by  continu- 
ing to  accumulate  it  as  an  end. 

A  thoroughly  ambitious  man  will  never  make  a 
true  friend,  for  he  who  makes  ambition  his  god 
tramples  upon  every  thing  else.  What  cares  he  if 


AMBITION.  351 

in  his  onward  march  he  treads  upon  the  hearts  of 
those  who  love  him  best.  In  his  eyes  your  only 
value  lies  in  the  use  you  may  be  to  him.  Personally 
one  is  nothing  to  him.  If  you  are  not  rich  or  famous 
or  powerful  enough  to  advance  his  interests,  after  he 
has  got  above  you  he  cares  no  more  for  you.  It  is 
the  nature  of  ambition  to  make  men  liars  and  cheats, 
to  hide  the  truth  in  their  breast,  and  show,  like  jug- 
glers, another  thing  in  their  mouth  ;  to  cut  all  friend- 
ships and  enmities  to  the  measure  of  their  interests, 
and  to  make  a  good  countenance  without  the  help  of 
a  good  will. 

If,  as  one  says,  "ambition  is  but  a  shadow's  sha- 
dow," it  were  well  to  remember  that  a  shadow,  wher- 
ever it  passes,  leaves  a  track  behind.  It  would 
conduce  to  humility  also  to  remember  that  of  the 
greatest  personages  in  the  world  when  once  they 
are  dead  there  remains  no  monument  of  their 
selfish  ambition  except  the  empty  renown  of  their 
boasted  name.  It  is  a  very  indiscreet  and  trouble- 
some ambition  which  cares  so  much  about  fame, 
about  what  the  world  will  say  of  us,  to  be  always 
looking  in  the  faces  of  others  for  approval,  to  be 
always  anxious  about  the  effect  of  what  we  do  or  say, 
to  be  always  shouting  to  hear  the  echo  of  our  own 
voices.  To  be  famous  ?  What  does  this  profit  a  year 
hence,  when  other  names  sound  louder  than  yours? 

The  desire  to  be  thought  well  of,  to  desire  to  be 
great  in  goodness,  is  in  itself  a  noble  quality  of 
the.  mind,  and  is  often  termed  ambition,  though  it 
lacks  the  element  of  selfishnes?  which  renders  ambi- 


352  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

tion  so  odious  to  all  right-minded  people.  It  seems 
an  abuse  of  language  to  confound  such  a  trait  of  the 
mind  with  ambition.  It  were  better  to  call  it  aspira- 
tion, which  becomes  ambition  only  when  carried  to 
an  extreme,  or  when  the  objects  for  the  attainment 
of  which  ambition  incites  us  to  put  forth  our  utmost 
exertions  are  unworthy  the  attention  of  sentient 
moral  beings,  who  live  not  only  for  time,  but  for 
eternity.  A  worthy  aspiration  may  be  a  great  incen- 
tive to  advancement  and  civilization,  a  great  teacher 
to  morality  and  wisdom;  but  an  unworthy  ambition, 
unworthy  because  of  its  ends  or  the  zeal  with  which 
they  are  pursued,  is  often  the  instrument  of  crime 
and  iniquity,  the  instigator  of  intemperance  and 
rashness. 

Ambition  is  an  excessive  quality,  and,  as  such,  is 
apt  to  lead  us  to  the  most  extraordinary  results.  If 
our  ambition  leads  us  to  excel  or  seek  to  excel  in 
that  which  is  good,  the  currents  it  may  induce  us  to 
support  will  be  none  but  legitimate  ones.  But  if  it 
is  stimulated  by  pride,  envy,  avariciousness,  or  vanity, 
we  will  confine  our  support  principally  to  the  counter 
currents  of  life,  and  thus  leave  behind  us  misery  and 
destruction.  An  ambition  to  appear  to  be  thought 
great  in  noble  qualities  may  lead  us  to  appear  good ; 
but  where  we  only  act  from  ambition,  and  not  from 
aspiration,  we  are  subject  to  fall  at  any  moment, 
since  it  were  vain  to  expect  selfishness  to  long  con- 
tinue in  any  right  action. 

If  it  is  our  ambition  to  gain  distinction,  we  will 
rob  the  weak  and  flatter  the  strong,  and  become  the 


AMBITION.  353 

fawning  slave  of  those  who  are  able  to  foist  us  above 
our  betters,  and  deck  us  with  the  titles  and  honors  of 
the  great  without  any  regard  to  our  own  merit  01 
respectability.  But  if  we  are  ambitious  to  do  good, 
without  any  regard  for  the  fame  we  may  win  or  the 
praise  we  may  command,  our  course  will  be  honorable 
and  just,  bur  acts  and  deeds  most  worthy  and  good. 
When  we  have  done  with  the  world  the  prints  of  our 
worthy  ambition  will  still  remain  as  a  legacy  to  those 
who  come  after  us  to  enjoy  and  reap  the  benefits,  for 
which  they  will  revere  our  memory,  and  retain  our 
names  in  the  lists  of  those  whose  labors  have  aided 
in  enriching  the  world  and  exalting  the  general  in- 
terests of  mankind. 

To  be  ambitious  of  true  honor,  of  the  true  glory 
and  perfection  of  our  nature  is  the  very  principle  and 
incentive  of  virtue ;  but  to  be  ambitious  of  titles,  of 
place,  of  ceremonial  respects  and  civil  pageantry  is  as 
vain  and  little  as  the  things  are  which  we  court. 
Much  of  the  advancement  of  the  world  can  be  traced 
to  the  efforts  of  those  who  were  moved  by  ambition  to 
become  famous.  Like  fire,  ambition  is  an  excellent 
servant,  but  a  poor  master.  As  long  as  it  is  held 
subservient  to  integrity  and  honor,  and  made  to  con- 
form to  the  requirements  of  justice,  there  is  but  little 
danger  of  a  man's  having  too  much  of  it.  But,  be- 
ware! it  is  such  an  insatiate  passion  that  you  must 
be  continually  on  your  guard  lest  it  speedily  become 
the  ruling  principle  of  your  being. 
23 


354  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


§MONG  the  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which 
conduce  to  worldly  success,  there  is  no  one  the 
importance  of  which  is  more  real,  yet  which  is 
more  generally  underrated  at  this  day  by  the 
young,  than  courtesy — that  feeling  of  kindness,  of 
love  for  our  fellows,  which  expresses  itself  in  pleas- 
ing manners.  Owing  to  that  spirit  of  self-reliance 
and  self-assertion,  they  are  too  apt  to  despise  those 
nameless  and  exquisite  tendernesses  of  thought  and 
manner  that  mark  the  true  gentleman.  Yet  history 
is  crowded  with  examples  showing  that,  as  in  litera- 
ture it  is  the  delicate,  indefinable  charm  of  style,  not 
the  thought,  that  make*  a  work  immortal,  so  it  is  the 
bearing  of  a  man  towards  his  fellows  that  ofttimes, 
more  than  any  other  circumstance,  promotes  or  ob- 
structs his  advancement  in  life. 

Manner  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  estima- 
tion in  which  men  are  held  by  the  world  ;  and  it  has 
often  more  influence  in  the  government  of  others  than 
qualities  of  much  greater  depth  and  substance.  We 
may  complain  that  our  fellow-men  are  more  for  form 
than  substance,  for  the  superficial  rather  than  the 
solid  contents  of  a  man,  but  the  fact  remains,  and  it 
is  a  clew  to  many  of  the  seeming  anomalies  and 
freaks  of  fortune  which  surprise  us  in  the  matter  of 
worldly  prosperity.  The  success  or  failure  of  one's 
plans  have  often  turned  upon  the  address  and  manner 
of  the  man.  Though  there  are  a  few  people  who  can 


POLITENESS.  355 

look  beyond  the  rough  husk  or  shell  of  a  fellow-being 
to  the  finer  qualities  hidden  within,  yet  the  vast  ma- 
jority, not  so  keen-visaged  nor  tolerant,  judge  a  per- 
son by  his  outward  bearings  and  conduct. 

Grace,  agreeable  manners,  and  fascinating  powers 
are  one  thing,  while  politeness  is  another.  The  two 
points  are  often  mistaken  in  the  occasional  meeting, 
but  the  true  gentleman  always  rises  to  the  surface  at 
last.  Nothing  will  develop  a  spirit  of  true  politeness 
except  a  mind  imbued  with  goodness,  justness,  and 
generosity.  Manners  are  different  in  every  country ; 
but  true  politeness  is  every-where  the  same.  Man- 
ners which  take  up  so  much  of  our  attention  are  only 
artificial  helps  which  ignorance  assumes  in  order  to 
imitate  politeness,  which  is  the  result  of  much  good 
sense,  some  good-nature,  and  a  little  self-denial  for 
the  sake  of  others,  but  with  no  design  of  obtaining 
the  same  indulgence  from  them.  A  person  possessed 
of  those  qualities,  though  he  had  never  seen  a  court, 
is  truly  agreeable  ;  and  if  without  them  would  con- 
tinue a  clown,  though  he  had  been  all  his  life  a  gen- 
tleman usher 

He  is  truly  well-bred  who  knows  when  to  value 
and  when  to  despise  those  national  peculiarities  which 
are  regarded  by  some  with  so  much  observance.  A 
traveler  of  taste  at  once  perceives  that  the  wise  are 
polite  all  the  world  over,  but  that  fools  are  polite 
only  at  home.  Since  circumstances  always  alter 
cases,  the  polite  man  must  know  when  to  violate  the 
conventional  forms  which  common  practice  has  estab- 
lished, and  when  to  respect  them.  To  be  a  slave  to 


356  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

any  set  code  of  actions  is  as  bad  as  to  despise  them. 
Perceptiveness,  adaptation,  penetration,  and  a  happy 
faculty  of  suiting  manners  to  circumstances,  is  one 
of  the  principles  upon  which  one  must  work  ;  for  the 
etiquette  of  the  drawing-room  differs  from  that  of  the 
office  or  railroad-car,  and  what  may  be  downright 
rudeness  in  one  case  may  be  gentility  in  the  other. 

Benevolence  and  charity,  with  a  true  spirit  of 
meekness,  must  be  one  of  the  ruling  motives  of  the 
understanding ;  for  without  this  no  man  can  be  po- 
lite. Politeness  must  know  no  classification ;  the  rich 
and  the  poor  must  alike  share  its  justice  and  hu- 
manity. Exclusive  spirits,  that  shun  those  whose 
level  in  life  is  not  on  the  same  extravagant  platform 
as  themselves,  can  not  aspire  to  the  high  honor  of 
wearing  the  name  of  gentleman.  The  truly  polite, 
man  acts  from  the  highest  and  noblest  ideas  of  what 
is  right. 

True  politeness  ever  hath  regard  for  the  comfort 
and  happiness  of  others.  "  It  is,"  says  Witherspoon, 
real  kindness  kindly  expressed."  Viewed  in  this 
light,  how  devoid  of  the  virtue  are  some  who  pride 
themselves  on  a  strict  observance  of  all  its  rules  f 
Many  a  man  who  now  stands  ranked  as  a  gentleman, 
because  his  smile  is  ready  and  his  bow  exquisite,  if, 
in  reality,  unworthy  of  such  an  honor,  since  he  cares 
more  for  the  least  incident  pertaining  to  his  own  com. 
fort  than  he  does  for  the  greatest  occasion  of  discom- 
fort to  others. 

The  true  gentleman  is  recognized  by  his  regard 
for  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others,  even  in  matters 


POLITENESS.  357 

the  most  trivial.  He  respects  the  individuality  of 
others,  just  as  he  wishes  others  to  respect  his  own. 
In  society  he  is  quiet,  easy,  unobtrusive,  putting  on 
no  airs  nor  hinting  by  word  or  manner  that  he  deems 
himself  better,  wiser,  or  richer  than  any  one  about 
him.  He  is  never  "  stuck  up,"  nor  looks  down  upon 
others  because  they  have  not  titles,  honors,  or  social 
position  equal  to  his  own.  He  never  boasts  of  his 
achievements  or  angles  for  compliments  by  affecting 
to  underrate  what  he  has  done.  He-  prefers  to  act 
rather  than  to  talk,  to  be  rather  than  to  seem,  and, 
above  all  things,  is  distinguished  by  his  deep  insight 
and  sympathy,  his  quick  perception  of  and  attention 
to  those  little  and  apparently  insignificant  things  that 
may  cause  pleasure  or  pain  to  others.  In  giving  his 
opinions  he  does  not  dogmatize  ;  he  listens  patiently 
and  respectfully  to  other  men,  and,  if  compelled  to 
dissent  from  their  opinions,  acknowledges  his  fallibil- 
ity, and  asserts  his  own  views  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  command  the  respect  of  all  who  hear  him.  Frank- 
ness and  cordiality  mark  all  his  intercourse  with  his 
fellows,  and,  however  high  his  station,  the  humblest 
man  feels  instantly  at  ease  in  his  presence. 

The  truest  politeness  comes  of  sincerity.  It  must 
be  the  outcome  of  the  heart  or  it  will  make  no  last- 
ing impression,  for  no  amount  of  polish  will  dispense 
with  truthfulness.  The  natural  character  must  be 
allowed  to  appear  freed  of  its  angularities  and  asper- 
ities. To  acquire  that  ease  and  grace  of  manners 
which  distinguishes  and  is  possessed  by  every  well- 
bred  person  one  must  think  of  others  rather  than  of 


358  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

one's  self,  and  study  to  please  them  even  at  one's 
own  inconvenience.  "Do  unto  others  as  you  would 
that  others  should  do  unto  you" — the  golden  rule  of 
life — is  also  the  law  of  politeness,  and  such  politeness 
implies  self-sacrifice,  many  struggles  and  conflicts 
It  is  an  art  and  tact  rather  than  an  instinct  and 
inspiration. 

Daily  experience  shows  that  civility  is  not  only 
one  of  the  essentials  of  success,  but  it  is  almost  a 
fortune  in  itself,  and  that  he  who  has  this  quality  in 
perfection,  though  a  blockhead,  is  almost  sure  to 
rise  where,  without  it,  men  of  high  ability  fail. 
"  Give  a  boy  address  and  accomplishment,"  says 
Emerson,  "and  you  give  him  the  mastery  of  palaces 
and  fortunes.  Wherever  he  goes  he  has  not  the 
trouble  of  earning  or  owning  them ;  they  solicit  him 
to  enter  and  possess."  Genuine  politeness  is  almost 
as  necessary  to  enjoyable  success  as  integrity  or  in- 
dustry. 

We  despise  servility,  but  true  and  uniform  polite- 
ness is  the  glory  of  any  young  man.  It  should  be  a 
politeness  full  of  frankness  and  good  nature,  unobtru- 
sive, constant,  and  uniform  in  its  exhibition  to  every 
class  of  men.  He  who  is  overwhelmingly  polite  to  a 
celebrity  or  a  nabob  and  rude  to  a  laborer  because  he 
is  a  laborer  deserves  to  be  despised.  That  style  of 
manners  which  combines  self-respect  with  respect  for 
the  rights  and  feelings  of  others,  especially  if  it  be 
warmed  up  by  the  fires  of  a  genial  heart,  is  a  thing 
to  be  coveted  and  cultivated,  and  it  is  a  thing  that 
pays  alike  in  cash  and  comfort. 


POLITENESS.  359 

What  a  man  says  or  does  is  often  an  uncertain 
test  of  what  he  is.  It  is  the  way  in  which  he  says 
or  does  it  that  furnishes  the  best  index  of  his  char- 
acter. It  is  by  the  incidental  expression  given  to  his 
thoughts  and  feelings  by  his  looks,  tones,  and  ges- 
tures, rather  than  by  his  deeds  and  words,  that  we 
prefer  to  judge  him.  One  may  do  certain  deeds  from 
design,  or  repeat  certain  professions  by  rote;  honeyed 
words  may  mask  feelings  of  hate,  and  kindly  acts 
may  be  formed  expressly  to  veil  sinister  ends,  but 
the  "manner  of  the  man"  is  not  so  easily  controlled. 

The  mode  in  which  a  kindness  is  done  often  af- 
fects us  more  than  the  deed  itself.  The  act  may 
have  been  prompted  by  one  of  many  questionable 
motives,  as  vanity,  pride,  or  interests ;  but  the  warmth 
or  coldness  of  address  is  less  likely  to  deceive.  A 
favor  may  be  conferred  so  grudgingly  as  to  prevent 
any  feeling  of  obligation,  or  it  may  be  refused  so 
courteously  as  to  awaken  more  kindly  feelings  than 
if  it  had  been  ungraciously  granted. 

Good  manners  are  well-nigh  an  essential  part  of 
life  education,  and  their  importance  can  not  be  too 
largely  magnified  when  we  consider  that  they  are 
the  outward  expressions  of  an  inward  virtue.  Social 
courtesies  should  emanate  from  the  heart,  for  re- 
member always  that  the  worth  of  manner  consists  in 
being  the  sincere  expression  of  feelings.  Like  the 
dial  of  a  watch  they  should  indicate  that  the  works 
within  are  good  and  true.  True  civility  needs  no 
false  lights  to  show  its  points.  It  is  the  embodiment 
of  truth,  the  mere  opening  out  of  the  inner  self. 


360  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

The  arts  and  artifices  of  a  polished  exterior  are  well 
enough,  but  if  they  are  any  thing  more  or  less  than 
a  fair  exponent  of  inward  rectitude  their  hollowness 
can  not  lo*ig  escape  detection. 

The  cultivation  of  manner,  though  in  excess  it  is 
foppish  and  foolish,  is  highly  necessary  in  a  person 
who  has  occasion  to  negotiate  with  others  in  matters 
of  business.  Affability  and  good-breeding  may  even 
be  regarded  as  essential  to  the  success  of  a  man  in 
any  eminent  station  and  enlarged  sphere  of  life,  for 
the  want  of  it  has  not  unfrequently  been  found,  in  a 
great  measure,  to  neutralize  the  results  of  much  in- 
dustry, integrity,  and  honesty  of  character.  There 
are,  no  doubt,  a  few  strong,  tolerant  minds  which 
can  bear  with  defects  and  angularities  of  manner, 
and  look  only  to  the  more  genuine  qualities ;  but  the 
world  at  large  is  not  so  forbearant,  and  can  not  help 
forming  its  judgments  and  likings  mainly  according 
to  outward  conduct. 

It  has  been  well  remarked  that  whoever  imagines 
legitimate  manners  can  be  taken  up  and  laid  aside, 
put  on  and  off,  for  the  moment,  has  missed  their 
deepest  law.  A  noble  and  attractive  every-clay  bear- 
ing comes  of  goodness,  of  sincerity,  of  refinement, 
and  these  are  bred  in  years,  not  moments.  It  is  the 
fruit  of  years  of  earnest,  kindly  endeavors  to  please. 
It  is  the  last  touch,  the  crowning  perfection  of  a 
noble  character;  it  has  been  truly  described  as  the 
gold  on  the  spire,  the  sunlight  on  the  corn-field,  and 
results  only  from  the  truest  balance  and  harmony 
of  soul. 


SOCIABILITY.  361 


lOCIETY  has  been  apply  compared  to  a  heap  of 
embers,  which,  when  separated,  soon  languish, 
darken,  and  expire,  but,  if  placed  together,  glow 
with  a  ruddy  and  intense  heat,  a  just  emblem  of 
the  strength,  happiness,  and  security  derived  from 
society.  The  savage  who  never  knew  the  blessings 
of  combination,  and  he  who  quits  society  from  apathy 
or  misanthropic  spleen,  are  like  the  separate  embers, 
dark,  dead,  useless ;  they  neither  give  nor  receive 
heat,  neither  love  nor  are  beloved. 

From  social  intercourse  are  derived  some  of  the 
highest  enjoyments  of  life.  Where  there  is  a  free 
interchange  of  opinion,  the  mind  acquires  new  ideas, 
and,  by  a  frequent  exercise  of  its  powers,  the  under- 
standing gains  fresh  vigor.  The  true  sphere  of  hu- 
man virtue  is  found  in  society.  This  is  the  school  of 
human  faith  and  trials.  In  social,  active  life  difficul- 
ties will  perpetually  be  met  with.  Restraints  of  many 
kinds  will  be  necessary,  and  studying  to  behave  right 
in  respect  to  these  is  a  discipline  of  the  human  heart 
useful  to  others  and  improving  to  itself.  It  is 
good  to  meet  in  friendly  intercourse  and  pour  out 
that  social  cheer  which  so  vivifies  the  weary  and  de- 
sponding heart.  It  elevates  the  feelings,  and  makes 
us  all  the  better  for  the  world. 

Society  is  the  balm  of  life.  Should  any  one  be 
entirely  excluded  from  all  human  intercourse  he  would 
be  wretched.  Men  were  formed  for  society.  It  is 


362  GOLDEN  GEZIS  OF  LIFE. 

one  important  end  for  which  they  were  made  rational 
creatures.  No  man  was  made  solely  for  himself,  and 
no  man  is  capable  of  living  in  the  world  totally  inde- 
pendent of  others.  The  wants  and  weaknesses  of 
mankind  render  society  necessary  for  their  conven 
ience,  safety,  and  support.  God  has  formed  men 
with  different  powers  and  faculties,  and  placed  them 
under  different  circumstances,  that  they  might  be 
able  to  promote  each  others'  good.  Some  are  wiser, 
richer,  and  stronger  than  others  that  they  may  direct 
the  conduct,  supply  the  wants,  and  bear  the  burdens 
of  others.  Some  are  formed  for  one  and  some  are 
formed  for  another  employment,  and  all  are  qualified 
for  some  useful  business,  conducive  to  the  general 
good  of  society.  The  whole  frame  and  texture  of 
mankind  make  it  appear  that  they  were  designed  to 
live  in  society.  The  longer  men  live  in  society  the 
more  terrible  is  the  thought  of  being  excluded  from  it. 

Society  is  the  only  field  where  the  sexes  meet  on 
the  terms  of  equality,  the  arena  where  character  is 
formed  and  studied,  the  cradle  and  the  realm  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  the  crucible  of  ideas,  the  world's  uni- 
versity, at  once  a  school  and  a  theater,  the  spur  and 
the  crown  of  ambition,  the  tribunal  which  unmasks 
pretensions  and  stamps  real  merit,  the  power  that 
gives  government  leave  to  be,  and  outruns  the  Church 
in  fixing  the  moral  sense  of  the  people. 

Many  young  men  fail  for  years  to  get  hold  of  the 
idea  that  they  are  subject  to  social  duties.  They 
act  as  though  the  social  machinery  of  the  world  were 
self-operating.  They  see  around  them  social  organs 


SOCIABILITY.  363 

zations  in  active  existence.  The  parish,  the  Church, 
and  other  bodies  that  embrace  in  some  form  of  so- 
ciety all  men,  are  successfully  operated,  and  yet  they 
take  no  part  nor  lot  in  the  matter.  They  do  not  think 
st  necessary  for  them  to  devote  either  time  or  money 
to  society.  Sometimes  they  are  apt  to  get  into  a 
morbid  state  of  mind,  which  disinclines  them  to  social 
intercourse.  They  become  so  devoted  to  business 
that  all  social  intercourse  is  irksome.  They  go  out  to 
tea  as  if  they  were  going  to  jail,  and  drag  themselves 
to  a  party  as  to  an  execution.  This  disposition  is 
thoroughly  selfish,  and  is  to  be  overcome  by  going 
where  you  are  invited,  always  and  at  any  sacrifice  of 
mere  feeling.  Do  not  shrink  from  contact  with  any 
thing  except  bad  morals.  Men  who  affect  your  un- 
healthy mind  with  antipathy  will  prove  themselves 
very  frequently  on  mature  acquaintance  your  best 
friends  and  wisest  counselors. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  with  what  apparent  ease  some 
men  enter  society,  and  how  others  remain  away 
always.  Such  are  apt  to  think  that  society  has  not 
discharged  its  duties  as  to  them.  But  all  social  du- 
ties-are reciprocal.  Society  is  far  more  apt  1;o  pay 
its  dues  to  the  individual  than  the  individual  to  so- 
ciety. Have  you, -who  complain  of  the  cold  selfish- 
ness of  society,  done  any  thing  to  give  you  a  claim 
to  social  recognition  ?  What  kind  of  coin  do  you 
propose  to  pay  in  the  discharge  of  the  obligations 
which  come  upon  you  with  social  recognition  ?  In 
other  words,  as  a  return  for  what  you  wish  society  to 
do,  what  will  you  do  for  society  ?  Will  you  be  a 


364  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

member  of  society  by  right  or  by  courtesy  ?  If  you 
have  so  mean  a  spirit  as  to  be  content  to  be  a  bene- 
ficiary of  society,  to  receive  favors  and  confer  none, 
you  have  no  business  in  the  social  circle  to  which 
you  aspire. 

The  spirit  of  life  is  society ;  that  of  society  is  free 
dom  ;  that  of  freedom  the  discreet  and  modest  use 
of  it.  A  man  may  contemplate  virtue  in  solitude  and 
retirement ;  but  the  practical  part  consists  in  its  par- 
ticipation and  the  society  it  hath  with  others  ;  for 
whatever  is  good  is  better  for  being  communicated. 
As  too  long  a  retirement  weakens  the  mind,  so  too 
much  company  dissipates  it.  Too  much  society  is 
nearly  as  bad  as  none.  A  man  secluded  from  com- 
pany can  have  none  but  the  devil  and  himself  to 
tempt  him  ;  but  he  that  converses  much  in  the  world 
has  almost  as  many  snares  as  he  has  companions. 
The  great  object  of  society  is  refreshment  of  spirit. 
This  is  not  to  be  obtained  by  luxury  or  by  the  can- 
kerous habit  of  speaking  against  others,  but  by  a 
bright  and  easy  interchange  of  ideas  on  subjects 
which,  even  in  their  brightest  and  most  playful  as- 
pects, are  worthy  to  engage  the  thoughts  of  men. 

There  is  an  essential  vulgarity  in  one  phase  of 
social  life, — that  which  considers  the  welfare  of  the 
guest's  stomach  to  be  the  essential  part  of  the  host's 
duty,  and  the  great  question  of  the  guests  to  relate 
to  the  decorating  of  their  own  backs.  Such  views 
elevate  nobody  ;  they  refine  nobody  ;  they  inspire  and 
instruct  nobody  ;  they  satisfy  nobody.  This  view 
loses  sight  of  the  great  end  and  aim  of  society,  which 


SOCIABILITY-  365 

is  to  refine  and  elevate  mankind,  not  to  feed  them 
upon  dainties,  or  to  enable  them  to  show  off  good 
clothes.  Dean  Swift  had  a  better  relish  for  good 
society  than  for  choice  viands.  When  invited  to  the 
houses  of  great  men  he  sometimes  insisted  upon 
knowing  what  persons  he  was  likely  to  meet.  "  I 
do  n't  want  your  bill  of  fare,  but  your  bill  of 
company." 

It  is  this  losing  sight  of  the  true  end  of  society 
which  causes  it  to  present  so  many  strange  anoma- 
lies. Yet  with  all  its  defects  it  is  well-nigh  indis- 
pensable to  one  who  would  wield  power  and  influence 
in  the  world's  arena.  There  is  no  way  to  act  out 
the  promptings  of  your  better  nature,  and  to  move 
men  in  the  right  direction,  so  potential  as  that 
offered  to  the  social  man.  You  can  not  move  men 
until  you  show  yourself  one  among  them.  You  can 
not  know  their  wants  and  needs  until  you  have  min- 
gled with  them.  By  refusing  to  cast  your  lot  with 
others  socially,  you  are  as  powerless  to  do  good  as 
the  mountain  peak  is  to  raise  tropical  flowers. 

It  is  the  manner  of  some  to  forego  meeting  oth- 
ers socially.  There  will  certainly  come  a  time  when 
they  will  regret  it ;  for  the  human  heart  is  like  a 
millstone  in  a  mill :  When  you  put  wheat  under  it, 
it  turns  and  bruises  the  wheat  into  flour.  If  you  put 
no  wheat  in  it,  it  still  grinds  on  ;  but  then  it  grinds 
away  itself.  In  society  the  sorrows  and  griefs  of 
others  are  the  object  from  which  we  extract  the  flour 
of  charity  and  loving  kindness  ;  but  to  the  hermit 
from  society  his  own  griefs  and  sorrows  have  the 


366  GOLDEN  GEM?  IF  LIFE. 

effect  to  render  him  cold  and  selfish.  Man  in  so- 
ciety is  like  a  flower -bud  on  its  native  stalk.  It 
is  there  alone  his  faculties,  expanded  in  full  bloom, 
shine  out ;  there  only  reach  their  proper  use.  "It  is 
not  safe  for  man  to  be  alone."  In  the  midst  of  the 
budest  vauntings  of  philosophy,  nature  will  have  hei 
yearning  for  society  and  friendship.  A  good  heart 
wants  something  to  be  kind  to  ;  and  the  best  part 
of  our  nature  suffers  most  when  deprived  of  con- 
genial society. 

It  becomes  all  men  to  seek  the  general  good  of 
society  in  return  for  the  benefits  they  receive  from 
it.  Though  the  general  good  of  society  sometimes 
requires  the  individual  members  to  give  up  private 
good  for  that  of  the  public,  yet  it  is  always  to  be 
supposed  that  individuals  receive  more  advantage 
than  disadvantage  from  society,  on  the  whole.  In- 
deed, there  is  scarcely  any  comparison  in  this  case. 
The  public  blessings  are  always  immensely  great  and 
numerous.  They  are  more  in  number  than  can  be 
reckoned  up,  and  greater  in  worth  than  can  be  easily 
described. 

The  most  independent  individuals  in  society  owe 
their  principal  independence  to  society,  and  the  most 
retired  and  inactive  persons  feel  the  happy  influence 
of  society,  though  they  may  seem  to  be  detached 
from  it.  No  man  can  reflect  upon  that  constant 
stream  of  good  which  is  perpetually  flowing  down  to 
him  from  well-regulated  society,  without  feeling  his 
obligation  to  maintain  and  support  it.  Should  this 
stream  of  happiness  cease  to  flow,  the  most  careless 


DIGNITY.  367 

and  indifferent  would  feel  their  loss,  and  feel  a  sense 
of  their  duty  to  uphold  the  good  of  society.  Let  the 
head  of  society  cease  to  direct  and  the  hands  to  ex- 
ecute, and  the  other  members  of  the  public  body 
would  soon  find  themselves  in  a  forlorn  and  wretched 
state. 


"  The  dignity  of  man  into  your  hands  is  given, 
Oh  keep  it  well,  with  you  it  sinks  or  lifts  itself  to  heaven." 

— SCHILLER. 
jgjg, 

tyYIGXITY  denotes  that  propriety  of  mien  and 
carriage  which  is  appropriate  to  the  different 
walks  and  ranks  of  life.  In  regard  to  our  in- 
tercourse with  men  we  should  often  reflect,  not 
only  whether  our  conduct  is  proper  and  correct,  but 
whether  it  is  urbane  and  dignified.  Dignity  of  car- 
riage is  nearly  always  associated  with  high  endow- 
ments ;  the  reverse  is,  at  any  rate,  true,  that  high 
endowments  are  associated  with  dignity.  "A  trifling 
air  and  manner  bespeaks  a  thoughtless  and  silly 
mind,"  saith  a  Chinese  proverb,  "but  a  grave  and 
majestic  outside  is,  as  it  were,  the  palace  of  the 
soul." 

True  dignity  is  never  gained  by  place,  and  never 
lost  when  honors  are  withdrawn.  There  may  be 
dignity  in  a  hovel  as  well  as  in  a  court ;  in  one 
who  depends  on  the  sweat  of  his  brow  as  well  as 


368  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

one  who  is  placed,  by  reason  of  his  wealth,  in  a 
position  of  independence.  In  all  ranks  and  classes 
it  is  equally  acceptable  and  worthy  of  esteem.  True 
dignity  is  without  arms.  It  does  not  deal  in  vain 
and  ostentatious  parade.  In  proportion  as  we  gratify 
our  own  self-esteem  by  a  love  of  display  we  commonl) 
forfeit  to  the  same  degree  the  respect  of  those  whose 
good  opinion  is  worth  possessing.  A  d-'^nified  man- 
ner is  not  necessarily  an  imposing  manner;  for  true 
dignity  is  but  the  outward  expression  of  inherent 
worth  of  character,  but  an  imposing  manner  is  gen- 
erally ostentatious  in  degree,  and  as  such  may  be 
taken  as  an  evidence  of  imposition.  That  dignity 
which  seeks  to  make  an  ostentatious  display  is  often 
only  a  veil  between  us  and  the  real  truth  of  things. 
It  is  only  the  false  mask  of  appearance  put  on  to 
conceal  inherent  defects. 

The  ennobling  quality  of  all  politeness  is  dignity. 
Have  you  not  noticed  that  there  are  some  persons 
who  possess  an  inexpressible  charm  of  manner — a 
something  which  attracts  our  love  instantaneously, 
when  they  have  neither  wealth,  position,  nor  talents? 
You  will  find  that  a  dignity  of  manner  characterizes 
their  actions,  and  that  a  spirit  of  dignity  hovers 
around  them.  On  the  other  hand,  have  you  not 
seen  persons  of  wealth  who  were  surrounded  by 
luxury  and  all  the  comforts  of  affluence,  yet,  in  lack- 
ing a  spirit  of  dignity,  lacked  the  essential  to  render 
their  lives  influential  for  good?  Where  there  is  an 
inherent  want  of  dignity  in  the  character,  how  many 
distinguished  and  even  noble  acquisitions  are  required 


DIGNITY.  309 

to  supply  its  place!  But  when  a  natural  dignity  of 
character  exists,  what  a  prepossession  does  it  enlist 
in  its  favor,  and  with  how  few  substantial  and  real 
excellencies  are  we  able  to  pass  creditably  through 
the  world! 

There  are  three  kinds  of  dignity  which  either 
adorn  or  deface  human  character.  There  is  the  dig- 
nity of  etiquette  and  good  manners,  which  is  often 
of  an  artificial  kind,  and  is  a  creature  of  rules  and 
ceremonies,  and  not  of  the  heart.  The  second  is  the 
dignity  of  pride  and  arrogance.  This  is  a  presump- 
tuous dignity  arising  from  self-conceit  and  egotism. 
It  is  thoroughly  selfish  in  its  nature.  It  is  more  a 
spirit  of  haughtiness  and  cold  reserve  than  of  true 
dignity.  Then  there  is  the  dignity  of  compassion 
and  kindness.  This  is  that  true  dignity  which  enno- 
bles life.  It  arises,  not  from  selfishness,  but  from 
kindness  of  heart,  and  from  a  sense  of  the  impor- 
tance of  life. 

Some  men  find  it  almost  impossible  to  discover 
the  line  which  separates  dignity  from  conceit.  Dig- 
nity is  a  splendid  personal  quality  if  it  be  of  the 
right  .sort.  To  possess  it  is  to  be  above  meanness, 
above  cringing,  above  any  thing  that  is  low  and  un- 
seemly. It  holds  up  its  head,  even  among  poverty 
and  outward  shabbiness,  and  looks  the  world  bravely 
in  the  face.  It  is  innate  manliness  that  outward 
garb  can  not  change.  But  conceit  is  a  very  different 
quality,  and  its  possessor  is  very  far  from  being 
dignified,  though  he  doubtlessly  considers  himself 

to   be    so.      He   looks    upon    himself   as  the   grand 

24 


370  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

center  of  his  social  system,  and  upon  all  others  as 
satellites,  whose  particular  business  is  to  revolve 
around  him.  The  assumption  may  not  take  shape 
in  words,  but  it  comes  out  in  his  manner  all  the 
same.  Let  him  undertake  to  be  amiable,  and  there 
is  a  sort  of  royal  condescension ;  he  takes  the  atti- 
tude of  stooping  rather  than  that  of  one  reaching 
out  friendly  hands  to  his  equals.  All  this  would  be 
offensive  and  somewhat  exasperating  were  it  not 
ridiculous.  But  we  laugh  in  charitable  good  nature, 
and  pity  his  absurdities.  There  is  little  use  in  try- 
ing to  point  them  out  to  him.  He  is  so  hoodwinked 
by  his  overshadowing  self-esteem  that  he  can  not 
see.  True  dignity  does  not  consist  in  haughty  self- 
assurance.  In  resolving  to  be  dignified  let  us  see  to 
it  that  we  strive  for  the  true  kind. 

In  counseling  dignity  we  advise  no  spirit  of  cold 
hauteur  and  pride,  but  we  do  counsel  such  outward 
walk  and  conversations  as  shall  become  one  who  has 
a  just  appreciation  of  life  and  its  possibilities.  One 
who  is  always  given  to  light  and  flippant  remarks, 
and  always  assuming  a  free  and  easy  style  in  his 
demeanor,  can  not  carry  such  an  impression  of  power 
as  one  who  bears  about  him  the  impression  of  a  man 
among  men  by  his  dignified  and  decorous  bearing. 
True  dignity  exists  independent  of — 

"Studied  gestures  or  well-practiced  smiles." 

Its  seat  should  be  in  the  mind,  and  then  it  will 
not  be  found  wanting  in  the  manner.  It  is  often 
strikingly  and  eloquently  displayed  in  the  bearings 


AFFABILITY.  371 

of  those  utterly  unacquainted  with  the  strict  rules 
of  etiquette.  If  one  has  a  modest  consciousness  of 
his  own  worth,  and  a  sincere  desire  to  be  of  worth 
to  others,  he  must  necessarily  display  true  dignity  in 
his  manner  and  bearing  towards  others. 


AFFABILITY  is  a  real  ornament,  the  most  beau- 
tiful dress  that  man  or  woman  can  wear,  and 
worth  far  more  as  a  means  of  winning  favor 
than  tke  finest  clothes  and  jewels  ever  were. 
The  exercise  of  affability  creates  an  instantaneous 
impression  in  your  behalf,  while  the  opposite  quality 
excites  as  quick  a  prejudice  against  you.  So  true  is 
this  that  were  we  asked  to  name  any  one  quality 
which,  aside  from  mere  mental  powers,  contributed 
largely  to  success,  we  would  mention  affability. 

Apart  from  its  worth  as  an  agreeable  trait  of 
character,  affability  is  a  valuable  commodity.  Every 
one  who  has  business  to  transact  should  add  this  to 
his  stock  in  trade.  It  costs  nothing,  while  it  vastly 
facilitates  trade  and  profit.  There  are  business  men 
and  women  who  make  fortunes  simply  by  their  affable 
and  polite  manners.  Their  wares  or  their  services 
are  no  better,  perhaps,  than  the  stock  in  trade  of 
their  crusty  neighbors ;  but  having  undertaken  a 
business  or  adopted  a  profession,  they  are  wise 
enough  to  know  that  whatever  is  to  be  done  sue- 


372  GOLDEN  GEZIS  OF  LIFE. 

cessfully  must  be  done  in  a  pleasing  manner  and 
with  a  good  will. 

Their  acts  appear  to  be  based  on  the  conviction 
that  every  body  may  be  made  a  friend,  which  is  every 
way  preferable  to  acting  as  if  every  body  were  an 
intruder.  They  do  not  treat  people  as  though  they 
were  in  a  hurry  to  be  done  with  them,  but  as  though 
they  might  be  cultivated  into  an  acquaintance  and 
grow  into  a  friend.  To  neglect  the  small  courtesies 
of  life  is  to  insure  neglect  for  yourself.  And  the 
reason  that  some  persons  are  successful  where  others 
fail  is  that  they  invite  strangers  to  become  friends  by 
civility,  while  the  others  repel  even  friends  by  the 
want  of  courtesy. 

The  world  at  best  is  extremely  selfish.  We  are 
too  much  taken  up  with  our  own  personal  aims  to 
notice  how  others  are  thriving.  We  little  think  how 
others  may  be  wishing  for  some  friendly  recognition, 
how  far  with  them  the  friendly  shake  of  the  hand 
may  go.  The  world  is  full  of  suffering  and  sorrow, 
and  it  is  at  these  seasons  that  kindly  words  come  with 
far  more  than  their  usual  force.  The  human  heart 
was  formed  for  sympathy  as  naturally  as  the  flower 
for  sunshine.  Hence  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  man 
of  affable  and  kind  manners  should  be  the  one  who 
would  make  friends  wherever  he  goes. 

It  is  good  to  meet  in  friendly  intercourse,  and 
pour  out  that  social  cheer  which  so  vivifies  the  weary 
and  desponding  heart.  Give  to  all  the  hearty  grasp 
and  the  sunny  smile.  They  send  sunshine  to  the 
'soul,  and  make  the  heart  leap  as  with  new  life  and 


AFFABILITY.  .          373 

joy.  Thus  may  we  become  brothers  in  every  good 
word  and  deed,  and  peace  and  good-will  spread  in 
the  world.  We  long  for  friendly  intercourse,  and 
when  deprived  of  the  society  of  others  we  pine  and 
grow  sick  at  heart,  we  become  misanthropic  and 
gloomy.  The  Summer  of  the  heart  changes  to  dreary 
Winter,  and  our  lives  seem  overcast  and  gloomy. 

We  are  not  well  enough  acquainted  each  with 
each,  and  all  with  all.  We  are  not  social  enough. 
We  are  not  found  often  enough  at  one  another's 
houses.  We  are  especially  delinquent  in  the  duty 
of  calling  upon  such  as  come  among  us  and  corneot 
themselves  with  us.  We  do  not  welcome  them,  and 
seek  to  make  their  stay  as  pleasant  as  possible.  We 
do  not  take  the  kindly  notice  we  should  of  such  as 
come  to  our  places  of  public  and  social  gatherings. 
This  is  wrong.  It  is  incumbent  on  us  as  members 
of  society  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  affability,  to  strive 
to  make  all  within  our  influence  happy  by  our  kind 
solicitude  for  their  welfare.  Says  Daniel  Webster  : 
"  We  should  make  it  a  principle  to  extend  the  hand 
of  fellowship  to  every  man  who  discharges  faithfully 
his  duties  and  maintains  good  order,  who  manifests 
a  deep  interest  in  the  general  welfare  of  society, 
whose  deportment  is  upright,  and  whose  mind  is  in- 
telligent, without  stopping  to  ascertain  whether  he 
swings  a  hammer  or  draws  a  thread." 

As  there  is  nothing  to  be  lost  and  so  much  to  be 
gained  by  the  exercise  of  affability,  it  is  deeply  to  be 
regretted  that  so  few  use  it.  To  be  affable  does  not 
imply  an  indiscriminate  taking  into  confidence, 


374  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

imparting  to  third  persons  the  secrets  of  your  busi- 
ness, at  the  same  time  expecting  to  be  informed  of 
his.  To  do  thus  is  mere  simplicity,  and  is  an  utter 
disregard  of  all  cautious  rules.  But  the  friendly  con- 
versation, the  hearty  grasp  of  the  hand,  the  feeling 
of  kindness  and  good-will  which  finds  expression  in. 
t1->  :  tones,  the  willingness  to  do  a  favor  cheerfully, — 
these  constitute  true  affability,  which  is  not  only  of 
value  to  the  possessor,  but  may  almost  claim  a  place 
among  the  Christian  graces. 

How  many  there  are  who  are  not  in  want  of  as- 
sistance of  material  things,  but  who  are  yearning  for 
social  recognition,  who  feel  themselves  shut  out  from 
intercourse  with  their  fellow-beings  by  the  spirit  of 
selfishness  which  shows  itself  in  a  refusal  of  social 
privileges !  It  is  so  easy  to  become  thoughtless  in 
this  matter  that  each  one  should  strive  against  the 
feeling,  and  should  constantly  strive  to  make  all 
around  him  feel  that  he  recognizes  in  them  the  man 
or  woman,  an  equal  being  with  himself,  and  to  meet 
them  with  kindness  by  no  means  devoid  of  dignity, 
but  to  let  them  see  that  he  is  moved  by  a  spirit  of 
good-will  towards  all,  and  desires,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  do  away  with  the  distinction  of  rank  or  wealth, 
and  to  meet  with  them  on  the  plane  of  equality. 

In  urging  affability  we  do  not  ignore  the  fact  that 
there  are  many  to  be  found  in  every  walk  of  life  with 
whom  the  less  one  has  to  do  the  better,  that  you 
would  as  soon  think  of  taking  a  serpent  into  the 
bosom  of  your  family  as  some  people  who  infest  soci 
ety.  But  this  lamentable  fact  does  not  lessen  the 


THE  TOILET.  375 

claims  of  affability,  since,  because  you  are  fond  of 
fruit,  you  are  not  required  to  eat  indiscriminately  all 
kinds  of  fruits,  the  good  and  also  the  bad,  the  nu- 
tritious as  well  as  the  poisonous,  but  you  are  to 
exercise  a  judicious  elimination.  So  you  are  not 
required  to  be  frank,  open-hearted,  and  sociable 
with  villains  and  blacklegs,  the  depraved  and  licen- 
tious. To  do  this  is  to  sink  yourself  to  their  level. 
But  a  man  may  be  a  gentleman,  and  as  such  enti- 
tled to  recognition,  though  his  coat  be  not  of  broad- 
cloth or  of  the  most  fashionable  make.  And  a  real 
lady,  though  clad  in  calico,  is  as  worthy  of  frank 
and  courteous  treatment  as  though  robed  in  silk  and 
satins. 


"Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy, 
But  not  expressed  in  fancy; 
Rich,  not  gaudy, 
For  the  apparel  oft  proclaims  the  man." 

— SHAKESPEARE. 

the  index  tells  us  the  contents  of  books,  and 
§  directs  to  the  particular  chapter,  even  so  does 
the  outward  habit  and  superficial  order  of  gar- 
ment denote  the  spirit  and  demonstratively  point 
out,  like  to  a  marginal  note,  the  internal  qualities  of 
the  soul. 

We  believe  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all,  young  and 
oU,  to  make  their  persons,  as  far  as  possible,  agree- 


376  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

able  to  those  with  whom  they  are  associated.  If 
possible,  dress  yourself  fine  where  others  are  fine, 
and  plain  where  the  apparel  of  others  is  plain.  A 
man  who  finds  himself  badly  dressed  amongst  well- 
dressed  people  feels  awkward  and  ill  at  ease.  He 
stammers  and  is  confused  in  speech.  He  makes  ali 
manner  of  ridiculous  blunders,  and  it  is  well-nigh 
impossible  for  him  to  assume  that  air  of  simple  dig- 
nity' which  should  characterize  the  bearing  of  a  gen- 
tleman. But  it  should  be  remembered  that  this 
feeling  should  have  nothing  to  do  with  dress  proper; 
it  is  only  when  there  is  a  manifest  impropriety  in  the 
mode  of  dress.  The  dress  should  suit  the  time  and 
the  occasion.  The  man  in  his  work-shop  or  field, 
or  the  lady,  busied  with  the  household  duties,  should 
have  no  occasion  to  feel  ill  at  ease,  because  not  so 
finely  dressed  as  the  casual  caller.  Such  a  feeling 
should  be  instantly  checked,  since  it  is  born  of  pride, 
not  of  an  innate  desire  to  please  others. 

The  love  of  beauty  and  refinement  belongs  to 
every  true  woman.  She  ought  to  desire  in  modera- 
tion pretty  dresses,  and  delight  in  beautiful  colors 
and  graceful  fabrics.  She  ought  to  take  a  certain, 
not  too  expensive,  pride,  in  herself,  and  be  solicitous 
to  have  all  belonging  to  her  well  chosen  and  in  good 
style.  Many  fail  to  understand  the  true  object  and 
importance  of  this  sentiment.  Let  no  woman  sup- 
pose that  any  man,  much  less  her  husband,  is  indif- 
ferent to  her  appearance.  But  women  should  con- 
stantly beware  lest  what  was  meant  as  a  means  of 
influence  becomes  a  ruling  passion.  And  let  it  be 


THE  TOILET.  377 

ever  remembered  that  beauty  of  dress  does  not 
reside  in  the  material;  that  time,  place,  and  circum- 
stances are  all  to  be  considered;  that  they  may 
look  far  more  bewitching  in  the  eyes  of  those  whom 
they  are  desirous  to  please  when  clad  in  neat  calico 
uhan  if  robed  in  silks  and  satins.  And  depend  upon 
it  that  the  husband,  wearied  with  his  day's  work,  had 
far  rather  find  the  wife  neatly  clad,  doing  or  superin- 
tending household  duties,  than,  when  dressed  in  the 
height  of  fashion,  she  greets  him  to  a  home  that 
sadly  needs  an  efficient,  willing  housekeeper. 

Through  dress  the  mind  may  be  read,  as  through 
the  delicate  tissue  the  lettered  page.  Women  are 
more  like  flowers  than  we  think.  In  their  dress  and 
adornments  they  express  their  natures,  as  the  flow- 
ers in  their  petals  and  colors.  Some  women  are  like 
the  modest  daisies  and  violets — they  never  look  or 
feel  better  than  when  dressed  in  a  morning  wrapper. 
When  women  are  free  to  dress  as  they  like,  uncon- 
trolled by  others  and  not  limited  by  their  circum- 
stances, they  do  not  fail  to  express  their  true  charac- 
ters. A  modest  woman  will  dress  modestly ;  a  really 
refined  and  intelligent  woman  will  bear  the  marks  of 
careful  selections  and  faultless  taste. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  many,  both  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen fail  to  recognize  the  beauty  which  always  ac- 
companies simplicity.  The  stern  simplicity  of  the 
classic  taste  is  seen  in  the  statues  and  pictures  of 
the  old  masters.  In  Athens  the  ladies  were  not 
gaudily,  but  simply  arrayed,  and  we  doubt  whether 
any  ladies  have  ever  excited  more  admiration.  Fe- 


378  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE, 

male  loveliness  never  appears  to  so  good  advantage 
as  when  set  off  by  simplicity  of  dress.  Tinselries 
may  serve  to  give  effect  on  the  stage  or  upon  the 
ball-room  floor,  but  in  daily  life  there  is  no  substitute 
for  the  charm  of  simplicity.  A  vulgar  taste  is  not 
to  be  disguised  by  gold  and  diamonds.  The  ab- 
sence of  a  true  taste  and  refinement  of  delicacy  can 
not  be  compensated  by  the  possession  of  the  most 
princely  trousseau.  Mind  measures  gold,  but  gold 
can  not  measure  mind.  Those  who  think  that  in 
order  to  dress  well  it  is  necessary  to  dress  extrava- 
gantly or  gaudily  make  a  great  mistake.  Elegance 
of  dress  does  not  depend  upon  expense.  A  lady 
might  wear  the  costliest  silks  that  Italy  could  pro- 
duce, adorn  herself  with  laces  from  Brussels  which 
years  of  patient  toil  are  required  to  fabricate ;  she 
might  carry  the  'jewels  of  an  Eastern  princess  around 
her  neck  and  upon  her  wrists  and  fingers,  yet  still 
in  appearance  be  essentially  vulgar.  These  are  as 
nothing  without  grace,  without  adaptation,  without  an 
harmonious  development  of  colors,  without  the  exer- 
cise of  discrimination  and  good  taste. 

God  has  implanted  in  the  minds  of  all,  but  espe- 
cially in  the  female  breast,  die  love  of  beauty,  and  one 
way  that  this  feeling  finds  expression  is  in  the  matter 
of  dress  and  personal  adornment.  We  think  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  all  to  clothe  themselves  in  that  style  of 
dress  which  most  becomes  them,  provided  that  it  does 
not  conflict  with  hygienic  rules,  and  is  warranted  by 
their  circumstances.  It  is  their  duty,  since  when  in 
choice  personal  adornment  they  have  a.  dignity  and 


THE  TOILET.  379 

sense  of  personal  elevation  which  they  do  not  experi- 
ence when  in  uncouth  attire.  Pride,  of  course,  often 
enters  into  fine  dressing,  and  many  women  are  fond  of 
flaunting  their  fine  feathers  in  people's  eyes;  but  a 
great  majority  love  handsome  dressing  in  obedience 
to  an  instinct  of  refinement,  in  consequence  of  that 
sense  of  personal  purity  which  accompanies  the  wear- 
ing of  choice  apparel. 

To  advise  a  young  lady  to  dress  herself  with  any 
serious  departure  from  the  prevailing  fashion  of  her 
day  and  class  is  to  advise  her  to  incur  a  penalty 
which  may  very  probably  be  the  wreck  of  her  whole 
life's  happiness.  But  it  is  only  the  fault  of  public 
opinion  that  any  penalties  at  all  follow  innovations  in 
themselves  sensible  and  modest.  To  train  this  pub- 
lic opinion  by  degrees  to  bear  with  more  variation  of 
costume,  and  especially  to  insist  upon  the  principle 
of  fitness  as  the  first  requisite  of  beauty,  should  be 
the  aim  of  all  sensible  women.  Nothing  can  be  in 
worse  taste  than  for  sensible  women  to  wear  clothes 
by  which  their  natural  movements  are  impeded,  and 
their  purposes,  of  whatever  sort,  thwarted  by  their 
habiliments. 

The  styles  of  dress  are  so  many  and  varied  that 
it  would  be  a  vain,  as  well  as  useless,  attempt  to 
classify  them.  There  is  one  principle  running  through 
all  which  every  woman  should  carefully  consider. 
Are  your  modes  of  dress  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  hygiene?  This  question  you  ought  carefully 
to  consider,  ever  remembering  that  nature  will  allow 
none  of  her  laws  to  be  violated  in  the  name  of  fash- 


380  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ion  with  impunity,  and  that  every  style  of  dress  that 
does  not  conform  to  the  plainest  of  nature's  teaching 
should  be  frowned  down  upon  by  all  sensible  people. 

Dress,  to  be  in  perfect  taste,  need  not  be  costly. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  this  age  too  much  atten 
tion  is  paid  to  dress  by  those  who  have  neither  the 
excuse  of  ample  means  nor  of  social  culture.  The 
wife  of  a  poorly  paid  clerk  or  of  a  young  man  just 
starting  in  business  aims  at  dressing  as  stylishly  as 
does  the  wealthiest  among  her  acquaintances.  Con- 
sistency in  regard  to  station  and  fortune  is  the  first 
matter  to  be  considered.  A  woman  of  good  sense 
will  not  wish  to  expend  in  unnecessary  extravagance 
money  wrung  from  an  anxious  husband ;  or,  if  her 
husband  be  a  man  of  fortune,  she  will  not  even  then 
encroach  upon  her  allowance.  In  the  early  years  of 
married  life,  when  the  income  is  moderate,  it  should 
be  the  pride  of  a  woman  to  see  how  little  she  can 
spend  upon  her  dress  and  yet  present  that  tasteful 
and  creditable  appearance  which  is  desirable. 

The  dress  of  a  gentleman  never  appears  more 
creditable  than  when  characterized  by  simplicity.  A 
gentleman's  taste  in  dress  is  shown  in  the  avoidance 
of  all  extravagance.  A  man  of  wit  may  sometimes 
be  a  coxcomb,  but  a  man  of  judgment  and  sense 
never  can  be.  A  beau  dressed  out  is  like  a  cinna- 
mon tree — the  bark  is  worth  more  than  the  body. 
A  dandy  is  said  to  be  the  mercer's  friend,  the  tailor's 
fool,  and  his  own  foe.  There  are  a  thousand  fops 
made  by  art  for  one  fool  made  by  nature. 

To  judge  from  the  actions  of  many  of  our  young 


THE  TOILET.  381 

men  one  would  suppose  that  dress  was  their  highest 
aim  in  life.  Elegance  of  attire  is,  indeed,  well,  and, 
when  suitable  to  the  surroundings,  bespeaks  the  gen- 
tleman. But  men  of  sterling  worth  and  character  are 
apt  to  have  a  feeling  of  contempt  for  the  one  who, 
by  his  faultless  attire  and  spruce  manner,  conclusively 
shows  that  he  is  actuated  by  a  dandy's  view  of  life. 
A  coat  that  has  the  mark  of  use  upon  it  is  a  recom- 
mendation to  people  of  sense,  and  a  hat  with  too 
much  nap  and  too  high  a  luster  a  derogatory  cir- 
cumstance. The  best  coats  in  our  streets  are  worn 
on  the  backs  of  penniless  fops,  broken-down  mer- 
chants, clerks  with  pitiful  salaries,  and  men  that  do 
not  pay  up. 

Dandies  and  fops  are  like  a  body  without  soul, 
powder  without  ball,  lightning  without  thunderbolt, 
paint  on  sand.  There  is  much  of  this  in  the  world. 
We  see  it  exemplified  in  every  thing  considered  val- 
uable. The  counterfeiter  gives  the  show  of  gold  to 
his  base  coin,  and  the  show  of  value  to  his  lying 
bank  note.  The  thief  hangs  out  the  appearance  of 
honesty  in  his  face,  and  the  liar  is  thunderstruck  if 
any  body  suspects  him  of  equivocation.  The  bank- 
rupt carries  abaut  with  him  the  appearance  of  wealth. 
The  fop  puts  on  the  masquerade  of  dignity  and  im- 
portance. The  poor  belle,  whose  mother  washes  to 
buy  her  plumes,  outshines  the  peeress  of  the  court. 
Many  a  table  steams  with  costly  viands  for  which 
the  last  cent  was  paid ;  and  many  a  coat,  sleek  and 
black,  is  worn  on  the  street  on  which  the  tailor  has 
a  moral  mortgage. 


382  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

In  the  matter  of  dress,  then,  when  we  sum  u  all 
up,  we  find  that  the  love  of  dress  is  inherent  in  all 
true  men  and  women,  and  that  it  would  be  as  unwise 
as  it  would  be  useless  to  strive  against  it;  that,  while 
no  man  or  woman  should  allow  themselves  to  become 
a  slave  to  dress  and  fashion,  still  it  is  no  less  a  duty 
than  it  is  a  privilege  to  cultivate  this  love  of  adorn- 
ment, ever  keeping  it  within  due  bounds,  remember- 
ing that  outward  adornment  should  be  but  secondary 
to  the  adornment  of  the  soul  with  all  noble  and  great 
qualities. 


|E  may  admire  proofs  of  hardiness  and  assur- 
ance, but  we  involuntarily  attach  ourselves  to 
simplicity  and  gentleness.  Gentleness  is  like 
the  silent  influence  of  light,  which  gives  color 
to  all  nature.  It  is  far  more  powerful  than  loudness 
or  force,  and  far  more  beautiful.  It  pushes  its  way 
silently  and  persistently,  like  the  tiniest  daffodil  in 
Spring,  which  raises  the  clod  and  thrusts  it  aside  by 
the  simple  persistence  of  growing. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  in  this  stirring  age,  when 
we  enumerate  the  elements  of  success,  that  we  do  not 
lay  stress  enough  on  the  milder  virtues  of  simplicity 
and  gentleness.  While  fond  of  applauding  the  har- 
dier virtues  of  energy,  self-reliance,  perseverance, 
and  others  of  a  similar  nature,  we  are  in  danger  of 


GENTLENESS.  383 

losing  sight  of  the  fact  that  ofttimes  an  exhibition 
of  gentleness  and  courtesy  is  not  only  extremely 
pleasing  in  itself,  but  is  not  infrequently  one  of  the 
most  expeditious  and  efficacious  modes  of  advancing 
present  interests. 

It  is  singular  what  power  gentleness  and  courtesy 
bestows  on  him  who  practices  them.  The  most  bois- 
terous winds  only  cause  the  traveler  to  wrap  his 
cloak  the  closer  to  him,  while  the  gentle  rays  of  the 
sun  speedily  induce  him  to  discard  it.  And  thus  it 
is  with  many  of  the  pursuits  of  life,  where  sheer 
force  of  intellect  or  intensity  of  application  would  oft- 
times  end  only  in  a  failure  of  plans  and  purposes, 
gentleness,  by  its  silent  but  powerful  influence,  will 
not  only  excite  a  feeling  of  good  will  in  the  minds  of 
others,  but  as  oil  removes  friction  from  a  machine 
and  causes  it  to  move  smoothly,  so  will  gentleness 
remove  apparently  insurmountable  objects  from  the 
pathway  of  our  success. 

Gentleness  belongs  to  virtue,  and  is  to  be  care- 
fully distinguished  from  the  spirit  of  cowardice  or  the 
fawning  assents  of  sycophants.  It  removes  no  just 
right  from  fear ;  it  gives  no  important  truth  to  flat- 
tery ;  it  is,  indeed,  not  only  consistent  with  a  firm 
mind,  but  it  necessarily  requires  a  manly  spirit  and  a 
fixed  principle  in  order  to  give  it  any  real  value. 
An  able  man  shows  his  spirit  by  gentle  words  but 
resolute  actions.  How  often  experience  convinces  us 
that  a  bold  and  brazen  loudness  of  tones  and  rough- 
ness of  manner  cover  only  a  vacillating  spirit  and 
irresolute  actions !  And  on  the  other  hand,  do  not 


384  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

history  and  observation  show  that  quietness  and  gen- 
tleness ofttimes  mark  the  most  determined  of  actions? 
The  rarest  bravery  of  all  in  the  world  is  found  actively 
engaged  accompanied  by  an  exhibition  of  gentleness. 
And  ought  we  not  so  to  expect  it  ?  The  person 
moved  by  a  spirit  of  gentleness  throws  all  the  energy 
of  his  nature  into  action.  It  is  not  allowed  to  waste 
in  boisterousness,  but  is  guided  and  directed  in  the 
most  appropriate  channels  by  an  understanding  calm 
and  collected. 

In  the  captain  of  a  canal-boat  we  generally  expect 
gruffness  of  manner,  loudness  of  tones,  and  a  general 
lack  of  refinement,  dignity,  and  gentleness  ;  but  in 
the  commander  of  an  ocean  steamer  we  shall  always 
find  the  quietness,  gentleness,  and  dignity  that  we  all 
recognize  as  such  a  proper  accompaniment  of  power. 
So  true  it  is  that  gentleness  of  manner  is  the  most 
appropriate  and  general  expression  of  true  greatness 
and  worth  that  we  use  the  expression  "a  gentle  man" 
to  express  the  highest  type  of  worth  in  man. 

In  the  mechanical  world  do  we  not  always  find 
that  the  greater  the  exhibition  of  power  the  steadier 
and  quieter  the  movement  becomes  ?  It  is  the  rickety 
engine  of  but  few  horse-powers  that  goes  with  a  fizz 
and  a  clatter,  while  the  massive  engine  that  supplies 
the  motive  power  for  acres  of  machinery  goes  almost 
noiselessly;  and  the  sublimest  exhibition  of  power  in 
the  universe — the  movement  of  the  heavenly  bodies — 
proceeds  in  absolute  quiet.  We  observe  the  same 
effect  in  the  moral  world ;  the  master  minds  who 
have  moved  kingdoms  and  swayed  the  thoughts  ol 


GENTLENESS.  385 

millions  are  uniformly  gentle  and  dignified  in  their 
bearings.  The  loud-tongued  and  clatter-brained  fa- 
natics merely  cause  a  movement  in  their  immediate 
vicinity. 

There  is  a  magic  power  in  gentle  words,  th^ 
potency  of  which  but  few  natures  are  so  icy  as  tc 
wholly  resist.  Would  you  have  your  home  a  cheer- 
ful, hallowed  spot,  within  which  may  be  found  that 
happiness  and  peace  which  the  world  denies  to  its 
votaries  ?  Let  not  loud,  harsh  words  be  uttered 
within  its  walls.  Let  only  gentle,  quiet  actions  there 
be  found.  Speak  gently  to  the  wearied  husband, 
who,  with  anxious  brow,  returns  from  the  perplexi- 
ties of  his  daily  avocations ;  and  let  him,  in  his  turn, 
speak  gently  to  the  care-worn  woman  and  wife,  who, 
amid  her  never-ending  round  of  little  duties,  finds 
rest  and  encouragement  in  the  sympathy  of  him 
she  loves.  Speak  gently  to  the  wayward  child.  A 
pleasant  smile  and  a  word  of  kindness  will  often  re- 
store good  humor  and  playfulness.  Human  nature 
is  the  same  with  it.  It  has  its  joys  and  sorrows  as 
well  as  those  of  mature  growth,  and  its  little  heart 
will  quickly  yield  to  the  power  of  gentle,  loving 
kindness. 

Hearts  of  children  are,  after  all,  much  like  flow- 
ers; they  remain  open  to  the  softly  falling  dew,  but 
shut  up  in  the  violent  downfalls  of  rain.  Therefore, 
when  you  have  occasion  to  rebuke  children,  be  care- 
ful to  do  it  with  manifest  kindness  and  gentleness. 
The  effect  will  be  incalculably  better.  Speak  gently 
to  the  dependent  who  lightens  your  daily  toil;  kind 
25 


386  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

words  insure  respect  and  affection,  while  the  angry 
rebuke  provokes  impertinence  and  dislike.  Speak 
gently  to  the  aged  ones ;  many  are  the  trials  through 
which  they  have  passed,  and  now,  in  a  little  while, 
they  will  be  missed  from  their  accustomed*  places — 
the  spirit  will  have  passed  to  its  rest.  The  remem 
brance  of  an  unkind  word  will  then  bring  with  it  a 
bitter  sting.  Speak  gently  to  the  erring  one ;  are 
we  not  all  weak  and  liable  to  err  ?  Temptation,  of 
which  we  can  not  judge,  may  have  surrounded  him. 
Harshness  will  drive  him  on  the  sinful  way;  gentle- 
ness may  win  him  back  to  virtue. 

True  gentleness  is  founded  on  a  sense  of  what 
we  owe  to  Him  who  made  us,  and  to  the  common 
nature  of  which  we  all  share.  It  arises  from  reflec- 
tion on  our  own  failings  and  wants,  and  from  just 
views  of  the  condition  and  duty  of  man.  It  is  native 
feelings,  heightened  and  improved  by  principle.  It 
is  not  deficient  in  a  sense  of  true  worth  and  dignity, 
but  it  recognizes  in  all  men  the  possessors  of  infinite 
possibilities,  even  the  possibilities  of  eternal  life ;  and 
it  treats  them  as  brethren.  It  summons  to  its  high- 
est and  best  form  of  expression  all  that  is  noble  in 
manhood,  inspiring  in  purpose,  grand  in  aim,  and 
walks  proudly  therein ;  humbly,  yet  with  an  air  of 
conscious  dignity;  quietly,  yet  with  the  insignia  of 
power. 

Since,  then,  true  gentleness  is  thus  significant 
of  power,  thus  potential  for  good,  and  is  the  high 
and  distinctive  test  of  a  gentleman,  ought  not  all 
the  young  earnestly  strive  to  learn  that  spirit  of 


MODESTY.  387 

self-control,  and  accustom  themselves  to  speak  and 
act  gently  at  all  times,  and,  by  so  doing,  to  act  as 
becomes  a  man  and  responsible  being? 


has  been  remarked  that  the  modest  deportment 
iii  of  really  wise  men,  when  contrasted  to  the  as- 
suming air  of  the  vain  and  ignorant,  may  be 
compared  to  the  difference  of  wheat,  which,  while 
its  ear  is  empty,  holds  up  its  head  proudly,  but  as 
soon  as  it  is  filled  with  grain  bends  modestly  down 
and  withdraws  from  observation.  Thus  with  true 
worth  and  merit :  it  is  uniformly  modest  in  deport- 
ment. It  is  only  the  shallow-pated  who  strive  to  at- 
tract attention  by  pretentious  claims.  The  ocean 
depths  are  mute  ;  it  is  only  along  shallow  shores  that 
the  roar  of  the  breakers  is  heard. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between  self- 
reliance  and  modesty  on  the  one  hand,  and  self- 
esteem  and  arrogant  pretensions  on  the  other.  True 
self-reliance  does  not  call  on  all  men  to  witness  its 
exploits.  It  displays  itself  in  action.  It  may  be  re- 
served in  deportment,  but  quietly  and  modestly  pro- 
ceeds in  the  path  that  wisdom  points  ou-,  with  a 
steady  reliance  on  its  own  powers.  Not  so  self- 
esteem.  Its  boast  is  that  it  is  sufficient  for  all 
things ;  which,  to  be  sure,  were  not  so  bad,  were  it 
not  for  the  fact  that,  when  put  to  the  test  by  neces- 


388  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

sity,  it  so  quickly  abandons  its  pretentious  claims, 
and,  forgetting  to  use  its  own  powers,  is  anxious 
only  for  the  aid  of  others. 

Modesty  is  a  beautiful  setting  to  the  diamond  of 
talents  and  genius.  The  mark  of  the  truly  success 
ful  man  is  absence  of  pretensions.  He  talks  in  only 
ordinary  business  style,  avoids  all  brag,  dresses 
plainly,  promises  not  at  all,  performs  much,  speaks 
monosyllables,  hugs  his  fact.  He  calls  his  employ- 
ment by  its  lowest  name,  and  so  takes  from  evil 
tongues  their  sharpest  weapon.  Who  made  more 
wide  and  sweeping  discoveries,  of  more  far-reaching 
consequences,  than  Newton  ?  Yet  listen  to  his  modest 
confession:  "I  know  not  what  the  world  may  think 
of  my  labors,  but  to  myself  it  seems  as  though  I  had 
been  but  a  child  playing  on  the  seashore,  now  finding 
some  pebble  rather  more  polished,  and  now  some: 
shell  rather  more  agreeably  variegated  than  another, 
while  the  immense  ocean  of  truth  extended  itself 
unexplored  before  me."  Thus  it  is  always  found  that 
modesty  accompanies  great  merit,  and  it  has  even 
been  said  that  merit  without  modesty  is  generally 
insolent  in  expression. 

The  greatest  events  in  the  world's  history  dawned 
with  no  more  noise  than  the  morning  star  makes  in 
rising.  All  great  developments  complete  themselves 
in  the  world,  and  modestly  wait  in  silence,  praising 
themselves  never,  and  announcing  themselves  not  at 
all.  If  "honesty  be  the  best  policy,"  we  can  not 
deny  that  modesty,  as  a  matter  of  policy  even,  hath 
a  rare  virtue.  What  so  quickly  commands  our  good 


MODESTY.  389 

wishes  as  modesty  struggling  under  discouragement? 
what  our  sympathy  more  than  modesty  struck  down 
by  affliction  ?  or  what  our  respect  and  love  more  than 
modesty  ministering  to  the  distresses  of  others  ? 
There  is  no  surer  passport  to  the  favors  of  others 
than  modesty  of  deportment.  It  will  succeed  where 
all  else  has  failed  to  waken  in  the  minds  of  others  an 
interest  in  our  affairs.  It  is  to  merit  as  shades  to 
figures  in  a  picture,  giving  it  strength  and  beauty. 

Modesty  is  not  bashfulness,  though  the  two  are 
often  confounded.  The  bashfulness  of  timidity  is 
constitutional,  the  bashfulness  of  credulity  is  pitiable, 
the  bashfulness  of  ignorance  is  disreputable,  but  the 
bashfulness  allied  to  modesty  is  a  charm.  There  are 
two  distinct  sorts  of  bashfulness.  The  one  is  awk- 
wardness joined  to  pride,  which,  on  a  further  ac- 
quaintance with  the  world,  will  be  converted  into  the 
pertness  of  a  coxcomb.  The  other  is  closely  allied 
to  modesty.  It  is  a  painful  consciousness  of  self, 
which  is  produced  by  our  most  delicate  feelings,  and 
which  the  most  extensive  knowledge  can  not  always 
remove.  In  undermining  and  removing  bashfulness, 
due  -regard  is  to  be  had  to  the  adjacent  modesty, 
good  nature,  and  humanity,  as  those  who  pull  down 
private  houses  adjoining  imposing  buildings  are  care- 
ful to  prop  up  such  parts  as  are  endangered  by  the 
removal. 

Bashfulness  in  itself  can  not  be  admired.  It  com- 
pletely distrusts  its  own  powers,  whereas  we  have 
seen  that  a  proper  reliance  on  self  is  at  all  times 
highly  commendable.  Bashfulness  in  man  is  never 


390  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

to  be  allowed  as  a  good  quality,  but  a  weakness, 
inasmuch  as  it  suppresses  his  virtues  and  hides  them 
from  the  world,  when,  had  he  a  mind  to  exert  him- 
self, he  might  accomplish  much  good.  We  doubt  not 
but  there  are  many  fine  intellects  passing  for  naught 
by  reason  of  their  bashfulness. 

Modesty  is  far  different  from  reserve.  Reserve 
partakes  more  of  the  nature  of  sullen  pride.  It  is 
haughty  in  demeanor,  and  hath  not  the  sweet,  retir- 
ing disposition  of  modesty.  A  reserved  man  is  in 
continual  conflict  with  the  social  part  of  his  nature, 
and  even  grudges  himself  the  laugh  into  which  he  is 
sometimes  betrayed.  The  modest  man  does  not 
refuse  to  perform  his  part  socially.  His  only  dread 
is  that  others  may  think  he  is  trying  to  center  atten- 
tion on  himself.  The  really  modest  man  may  be  the 
most  social  of  men.  The  reserved  man  thinks  it  is 
beneath  him  to  mingle  with  the  mass  of  the  people. 

Modesty  never  counsels  real  merit  to  conceal 
itself.  It  never  bids  one  refuse  to  act  when  action 
is  necessary,  and  the  person  is  conscious  that  his 
powers  are  adequate  for  the  performance  of  the  task. 
Nor  when  a  good  deed  is  to  be  done  should  the 
modest  man  hesitate  to  come  forward  to  do  it,  pro* 
viding  he  is  capable  of  so  doing.  Modesty  counsels 
none  to  be  backwards  where  duty  points  the  way  ; 
but  modesty  strictly  forbids  that  when  a  good  or 
meritorious  action  is  done  that  the  performer  should 
spread  abroad  the  story  of  his  doings.  Leave  that 
for  others  to  do. 

Modesty  is  the  crowning  ornament   of  womanly 


LOVR  391 

beauty,  and  the  honor  of  manly  powers.  It  alike 
becomes  every  age,  giving  new  grace  to  youthful 
figures,  and  imparting  a  pleasing  virtue  to  years.  It 
softens  the  asperities  of  poverty  and  is  a  beautiful 
setting  for  wealth  and  fortune.  It  gives  additional 
charms  to  the  possessor  of  genius  and  talents,  or 
cunningly  conceals  the  want  of  the  same.  It  is  the 
key  that  unlocks  alike  the  gate  to  success  or  the  door 
of  love  and  respect.  It  makes  life  pleasant  to  the 
one  who  exercises  the  virtue,  and  charities  bestowed 
by  its  hand  are  worth  far  more  to  the  recipient  than 
their  mere  pecuniary  value. 


"  Life  without  love !     Oh,  it  would  be 
A  world  without  a  sun — 
Cold  as  the  snow-capped  mountain,  dark 
As  myriad  nights  in  one; 
A  barren  scene,  without  one  spot 
Amidst  the  waste, 
Without  one  blossom  of  delight, 
Of  feeling,  or  of  taste  !" 

|OVE  in  one  form  or  another  is  the  ruling  element 
in  life.  It  is  the  primary  source  from  whence 
springs  all  that  possesses  any  real  value  to 
man.  It  may  be  the  love  of  dominion  or  power 
which,  though  utterly  selfish  in  its  aims  and  meth- 
ods, has  been  most  marvelously  overruled  for  good 


392  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

in  the  world's  history.  It  may  be  the  love  of  knowl- 
edge, in  the  pursuit  of  which  lives  have  been  lost 
and  fortunes  spent ;  but  grand  secrets  have  been 
wrung  from  nature — secrets  which  have  contributed 
much  for  the  advancement  of  human  interests.  Bui 
the  love  grander  than  any  other,  before  which  all  the 
other  elements  of  civilization  pale  and  dwarf  to  utter 
insignificance,  which  is  as  powerful  to-day  as  in  the 
morning  of  time,  which  will  continue  to  rule  until  time 
is  ended,  is  that  indefinable,  indescribable,  ever 
fresh  and  beautiful  love  betwixt  man  and  woman — 
that  love  which  has  the  power  to  tame  the  savage's 
heart ;  which  finds  man  rough,  uncultivated,  and 
selfish ;  which  leaves  him  a  refined  and  courteous 
gentleman  ;  which  transforms  the  timid,  bashful  girl 
to  the  woman  of  matchless  power  for  good. 

Love  is  an  actual  need,  an  urgent  requirement  of 
the  heart.  Every  properly  constituted  human  being 
who  entertains  an  appreciation  of  loneliness  and 
wretchedness,  and  looks  forward  to  happiness  and 
content,  feels  a  necessity  of  loving.  Without  it  life 
is  unfinished  and  hope  is  without  aim,  nature  is 
defective  and  man  miserable ;  nor  does  he  come  to 
comprehend  the  end  and  glory  of  existence  until  he 
has  experienced  the  fullness  of  a  love  that  actualizes 
all  indefinite  cravings  and  expectations.  Love  is  the 
great  instrument  of  nature,  the  bond  and  cement  of 
society,  the  spirit  and  spring  of  the  universe.  It  is 
such  an  affection  as  can  not  so  properly  be  said  to 
be  in  the  soul  as  the  soul  to  be  in  that.  It  is  the 
whole  nature  wrapped  up  in  one  desire.  Love  is  the 


LOVE.  393 

sun  of  life,  most  beautiful  in  the  morning  and  even- 
ing, but  warmest  and  steadiest  at  noon. 

Love  blends  young  hearts  in  blissful  unity,  and 
for  the  time  so  ignores  past  ties  and  affections  as  to 
make  a  willing  separation  of  the  son  from  his  father's 
house,  and  the  daughter  from  all  the  sweet  endear- 
ments of  her  childhood's  home,  to  go  out  together 
and  rear  for  themselves  an  altar,  around  which  shall 
cluster  all  the  cares  and  delights,  the  anxieties  and 
sympathies  of  the  family  relationship.  This  love,  if 
pure,  unselfish,  and  discreet,  constitutes  the  chief 
usefulness  and  happiness  of  human  life.  Without  it 
there  would  be  no  organized  households,  and,  conse- 
quently, none  of  that  earnest  endeavor  for  a  compe- 
tence and  respectability,  which  is  the  mainspring  to 
human  efforts,  none  of  those  sweet,  softening,  re- 
straining, and  elevating  influences  of  domestic  life, 
which  can  alone  fill  the  earth  with  the  happy  influ- 
ences of  refinement. 

Love,  it  has  been  said,  in  the  common  acceptance 
of  the  term  is  folly ;  but  love  in  its  purity,  its  lofti- 
ness, its  unselfishness  is  not  only  a  consequence,  but 
a  proof  of  our  moral  excellence.  The  sensibility  to 
moral  beauty,  the  forgetfulness  of  self  in  the  admira- 
tion engendered  by  it,  all  prove  its  claim  to  a  high 
moral  influence.  It  is  the  triumph  of  the  unselfish 
over  the  selfish  part  of  our  nature.  No  man  and  no 
woman  can  be  regarded  as  complete  in  their  experi- 
ence of  life  until  they  have  been  subdued  into  union 
with  the  world  through  their  affections.  As  woman 
is  not  woman  until  she  has  known  love,  neither  is 


394  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

man  a  complete  man.  Both  are  requisite  to  each 
other's  completeness. 

Love  is  the  weapon  which  Omnipotence  reserved 
to  conquer  rebel  man  when  all  the  rest  had  failed. 
Reason  he  parries ;  fear  he  answers  blow  to  blow  j 
future  interests  he  meets  with  present  pleasure ;  but 
love,  that  sun  against  whose  melting  beams  Winter 
can  not  stand,  that  soft,  subduing  slumber  which 
brings  down  the  giant,  there  is  not  one  human  soul 
in  a  million,  not  a  thousand  men  in  all  earth's  do- 
main whose  earthly  hearts  are  hardened  against  love. 
There  needs  no  other  proof  that  happiness  is  the 
most  wholesome  moral  atmosphere,  and  that  in  which 
the  morality  of  man  is  destined  ultimately  to  thrive, 
than  the  elevation  of  soul,  the  religious  aspirations 
which  attend  the  first  assurance,  the  first  sober  cer- 
tainty of  true  love. 

Love  is  the  perpetual  melody  of  humanity.  It 
sheds  its  effulgence  upon  youth,  and  throws  a  halo 
around  age.  It  glorifies  the  present  by  the  light  it 
casts  backward,  and  it  lightens  the  future  by  the 
gleams  sent  forward.  The  love  which  is  the  outcome 
of  esteem  has  the  most  elevating  and  purifying  effect 
on  the  character.  It  tends  to  emancipate  one  from 
the  slavery  of  self.  It  is  altogether  unsordicl ;  itself 
is  the  only  price.  It  inspires  gentleness,  sympathy, 
mutual  faith,  and  confidence.  True  love  also  in  a 
manner  elevates  the  intellect.  "All  love  renders 
wise  in  a  degree,"  says  the  poet  Browning,  and  the 
most  gifted  minds  have  been  the  truest  lovers.  Great 
souls  make  all  affections  great ;  they  elevate  and  con- 


LOVE.  '  395 

secrate  all  true  delights.  Love  even  brings  to  light 
qualities  before  lying  dormant  and  unsuspected.  It 
elevates  the  aspirations,  expands  the  soul,  and  stimu- 
lates the  mental  powers. 

It  were  fitting  that  the  nature  of  this  affection, 
which  has  such  power  for  good  or  ill,  be  thoroughly 
understood,  and  endeavors  made  to  guide  it  in  right 
channels.  For  love,  as  it  is  of  the  first  enjoyment,  so 
it  is  frequently  of  the  deepest  distress.  If  it  is 
placed  upon  an  unworthy  object,  and  the  discovery 
is  made  too  late,  the  heart  can  never  know  peace. 
Every  hour  increases  the  torments  of  reflection,  and 
hope,  that  soothes  the  severest  ills,  is  here  turned 
into  deep  despair.  But,  strange  to  say,  though  it  is 
one  of  universal  and  engrossing  interest  to  hu- 
manity, the  moralist  avoids  it,  the  educator  shuns  it, 
and  parents  taboo  it.  It  is  considered  almost  indeli- 
cate to  refer  to  love  as  between  the  sexes,  and  young 
persons  are  left  to  gather  their  only  notions  of  it  from 
the  impossible  love  stories  that  fill  the  shelves  of 
circulating  libraries.  This  strong  and  absorbing  feel- 
ing, which  nature  has  for  wise  purposes  made  so 
strong  in  woman  that  it  colors  her  whole  life  and  his- 
tory, though  it  may  form  but  an  episode  in  the  life  of 
man,  is  usually  left  to  follow  its  own  inclination,  and 
to  grow  up  for  the  most  part  unchecked,  without 
any  guidance  or  direction  whatever. 

Although  nature  spurns  all  formal  rules  and  di- 
rections in  affairs  of  love ;  though  love  triumphs  over 
reason,  resists  all  persuasion,  and  scorns  every  dic- 
tate of  philosophy ;  and  though,  like  a  fabled  tree  or 


396  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

plant,  it  may  be  cut  down  at  night,  but  ere  morning 
it  will  be  found  to  have  sprouted  up  again  in  renewed 
freshness  and  beauty,  with  its  leaves  and  branches 
re-expanded  to  the  air  and  laden  with  blossoms  and 
fruits ;  still,  at  all  events,  it  were  best  to  instill  in 
young  minds  such  views  of  character  as  should  ena- 
ble them  to  discriminate  between  the  true  and  the 
false,  and  to  accustom  them  to  hold  in  esteem  those 
qualities  of  moral  purity  and  integrity  without  which 
life  is  but  a  scene  of  folly  and  misery.  It  may  not 
be  possible  to  teach  young  people  to  love  wisely,  but 
they  may  at  least  be  guarded  by  parental  advice 
against  the  frivolous  and  despicable  passions  which 
so  often  usurp  its  name. 

Genuine  love  is  founded  on  esteem  and  respect. 
You  can  not  long  love  one  for  whom  you  have  not 
these  feelings.  The  most  beautiful  may  be  the  most 
admired  and  caressed,  but  they  are  not  always  the 
most  esteemed  and  loved.  We  discover  great  beauty 
in  those  who  are  not  beautiful,  if  they  possess  geu- 
uine  truthfulness,  simplicity,  and  sincerity.  No  de- 
formity is  present  where  vanity  and  affectation  is 
absent,  and  we  are  unconscious  of  the  want  of  charms 
in  those  who  have  the  power  of  fascinating  us  by 
something  more  real  and  permanent  than  external 
attractions  and  transitory  shows. 

Remember  that  love  is  dependent  upon  forms ; 
courtesy  of  etiquette  must  guard  and  protect  court- 
esy of  heart.  How  many  hearts  have  been  lost 
irrecoverably  and  how  many  averted  eyes  and  cold 
looks  have  been  gained  from  what  seemed,  perhaps, 


LOVE.  397 

but  a  trifling  negligence  of  forms.  Love  is  a  tender 
plant  and  can  not  bear  cold  neglect.  It  requires 
kind  acts  and  thoughtful  attentions,  one  to  the  other, 
and  thrives  at  its  best  only  when  surrounded  by  an 
atmosphere  of  disinterested  courtesy. 

The  love  of  woman  is  a  stronger  power  and  a 
sweeter  thing  than  that  of  man.  Men  and  women 
can  not  be  judged  by  the  same  rules.  There  are 
many  radical  differences  in  their  affectional  natures. 
Man  is  the  creature  of  interest  and  ambition.  His 
nature  leads  him  forth  into  the  struggle  and  bustle 
of  the  great  world.  Love  is  but  the  embellishment 
of  his  early  life,  or  a  song  piped  in  the  interval  of 
the  acts.  He  seeks  for  fame,  for  fortune,  for  space 
in  the  world's  thoughts,  and  dominion  over  his  fellow- 
men.  But  a  woman's  whole  life  is  a  history  of  the 
affections.  The  heart  is  her  world ;  it  is  there  her 
ambition  strives  for  empire ;  it  is  there  her  nature 
seeks  for  love  and  kindness.  She  sends  forth  her 
sympathies  on  adventure ;  she  embarks  her  whole 
soul  in  the  traffic  of  affection,  and  if  shipwrecked  her 
case  is  hopeless,  for  it  is  the  bankruptcy  of  a  heart. 

Woman's  love  is  stronger  than  man's  because  she 
sacrifices  more.  For  every  woman  is  with  the  food 
of  the  heart  as  with  the  food  of  her  body ;  it  is  pos- 
sible to  exist  on  a  very  small  quantity,  but  this  small 
quantity  is  an  absolute  necessity.  The  love  of  a 
pure,  true  woman  has  brightened  some  of  the  darkest 
scenes  in  the  world's  history.  It  inspires  them  with 
courage  and  incites  them  to  actions  utterly  foreign 
to  their  shrinking  dispositions.  Who  can  estimate 


398  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

the  value  of  a  woman's  affections?  Gold  can  not 
purchase  a  gem  so  precious.  In  our  most  cheer- 
less moments,  when  disappointments  and  care  crowd 
round  the  heart,  and  even  the  gaunt  form  of  poverty 
menaces  with  his  skeleton  fingers,  it  gleams  round 
the  soul  like  sunlight  in  dark  places.  It  follows  the 
prisoner  into  the  gloomy  cell,  and  in  the  silence  of 
midnight  it  plays  around  his  heart,  and  in  his  dreams 
he  folds  to  his  bosom  the  form  of  her  who  loves  him 
still,  though  the  world  has  turned  coldly  from  him. 

Love  purifies  the  heart  from  self;  it  strengthens 
and  ennobles  the  character,  gives  higher  motives  and 
a  nobler  aim  to  every  action  of  life,  and  makes  both 
man  and  woman  strong,  noble,  and  courageous;  and 
the  power  to  love  truly  and  devotedly  is  the  noblest 
gift  with  which  a  human  being  can  be  endowed,  but 
it  is  a  sacred  fire  and  not  to  be  burned  before  idols. 
Disinterested  love  is  beautiful  and  noble.  How  high 
will  it  not  rise!  How  many  injuries  will  it  not  for- 
give !  What  obstacles  will  it  not  overcome,  and  what 
sacrifices  will  it  not  make  rather  than  give  up  the 
being  upon  which  it  has  been  once  wholly  and  truth- 
fully fixed! 

It  is  difficult  to  know  at  what  moment  love  begins ; 
it  is  less  difficult  to  know  it  has  begun.  A  thousand 
messengers  betray  it  to  the  eye.  Tone,  act,  attitude, 
and  look,  the  signals  upon  the  countenance,  the  elec- 
tric telegraph  of  touch,  all  betray  the  yielding  citadel. 
And  there  is  nothing  holier  in  this  life  of  ours  than 
the  first  consciousness  of  love,  the  first  fluttering  of 
fts  silken  wings,  the  first  rising  sound  of  that  wind 


LOVE.  399 

which  is  so  soon  to  sweep  through  the  soul  to  purify 
or  to  destroy.  Love  is  thus  a  power,  potent  for  good, 
but,  debased  and  corrupted,  is  as  potent  for  evil. 
If  it  brings  joys  it  may  also  conduce  to  exquisite 
anguish.  A  disappointment  in  love  is  more  hard  to 
get  over  than  any  other;  the  passion  itself  so  softer. s 
and  subdues  the  heart  that  it  disables  it  from  strug- 
gling or  bearing  up  against  the  woes  and  distresses 
which  befall  it.  The  mind  meets  with  other  mis- 
fortune in  her  whole  strength;  she  stands  collected 
within  herself  and  sustains  the  shock  with  all  the 
force  which  is  natural  to  her.  But  a  heart  crossed 
in  love  has  its  foundation  sapped,  and  immediately 
sinks  under  the  weight  of  accidents  that  are  disagree- 
able to  its  favorite  passion. 

When  time  brings  us  to  the  resting-places  of 
life — and  we  all  expect  them,  and,  in  some  measure, 
attain  them — when  we  pause  to  consider  its  ways 
and  to  study  its  import,  we  then  look  back  over  the 
waste  ground  which  we  have  left  behind  us.  Is  a 
bright  spot  to  be  seen  there  ?  It  is  where  the  star 
of  love  has  shed  its  beams.  Is  there  a  plant,  a 
flower,  or  any  beautiful  thing  visible?  It  is  where 
the  smiles  and  tears  of  affection  have  been  spent — 
where  some  fond  eye  met  our  own,  some  endearing 
heart  was  clasped  to  ours.  Take  these  away  and 
what  joy  has  memory  in  retrospection,  or  what  de- 
light has  hope  in  future  prospects  ?  The  bosom 
whicn  does  not  feel  love  is  cold ;  the  mind  which 
does  not  conceive  it  is  dull ;  the  philosophy  which 
does  not  accept  it  is  false :  an«l  the  only  true  religion 


400  GOLDEN  GE1US  OF  LIFE. 

in  the  world  has  pure,  reciprocal,  and  undying  love 
for  its  basis.      The  loves  that  make  memory  happy 
and  home   beautiful  are  those  which  form  the   sun 
light  of  our  earlier  years;  they  beam  gratefully  along 
the  pathway  of  our  mature  years,  and  their  radiance 
lingers  till  the  shadows  of  death  darken  them  all  t ; 
gether. 


iHERE  is  an  unfortunate  tendency  in  human  na- 
ture to  treat  with  levity  many  questions  most 
vitally  affecting  man's  real  happiness.  Thus  in 
the  questions  of  love,  courtship,  and  marriage — • 
questions  than  which  none  could  be  more  important — 
it  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that  men  and  women  do 
not  more  carefully  consider  the  wisdom  of  their  course, 
do  not  reflect  whether  they  are  guided  by  the  light 
of  calm,  sober  sense  or  are  leaving  things  to  impulse. 
It  has  been  wisely  but  sadly  said  that  years  are 
necessary  to  cement  a  friendship ;  but  months,  and 
sometimes  weeks,  and  even  days,  are  sufficient  to 
prepare  for  that  holier  state  of  matrimony.  From 
false  regard  to  public  opinion,  or  as  a  matter  of  con- 
venience, or  for  the  mere  purpose  of  securing  a  home 
and  being  settled  in  life,  thousands  enter  into  the 
most  sacred  of  human  relationships  writh  no  such 
feelings  as  will  enable  them  to  bear  the  burdens 
Which  it  brings. 


COURTSHIP.  401 

Love  and  courtship  should  be  to  wedded  love 
what  a  blossom  is  to  the  perfected  fruit.  The  power 
of  this  love  must  be  measured,  not  by  its  intensity, 
but  by  its  effects — by  its  beneficence  in  bringing  into 
play  a  higher  range  of  motives,  by  the  facilities  it 
unfolds,  by  its  skill  in  harmonizing  different  natures. 
Not  once  in  a  hundred  times  do  two  natures  brought 
side  by  side  harmonize  in  every  part.  Of  nothing 
are  people  more  ignorant  than  of  human  nature. 
Very  rich  and  fruitful  natures  are  often  -side  by  side 
with  very  barren  ones ;  noble  ones,  with  those  that 
are  sordid  ;  exquisitely  sensitive,  with  those  coarse 
and  rude.  This  is  a  consequence  to  be  foreseen  from 
the  want  of  thought  evinced  by  people  when  about 
to  marry. 

Many  counsel  the  young  not  to  expect  too  much 
from  love.  That  is  an  evil  philosophy,  however,  which 
advises  to  moderation  by  undervaluing  the  possibil- 
ities of  a  true  and  glorious  love.  Happiness  in  this 
life  depends  more  upon  the  capacity  of  loving  than 
on  any  other  single  quality.  If  men  lose  all  the 
treasures  of  love,  it  does  not  prove  that  the  treasure 
is  not  to  be  found,  but  that  they  have  not  sought 
aright.  In  love  there  are  many  apartments  ;  but  not 
to  selfishness,  sensuality,  or  arrogance  will  love  yield 
its  richest  treasures.  True  love  is  social  regenera- 
tion. It  is  a  revolution  ending  with  a  new  king,  and 
a  reconstruction  of  the  soul. 

The  way  of  selfishness  is  self-seeking;  that  of 
love,  self-sacrifice.  It  is  this  self-sacrificing  spirit  of 

love  that  can  alone  perpetuate  its  influence  and  estab- 
26 


402  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

lish  its  worth  and  blessedness.  True  wisdom,  then, 
will  say  to  the  young,  Love,  but  love  not  blindly. 
Justice  is  represented  as  blind,  in  order  that,  under 
no  circumstances,  can  she  swerve  one  hair's-breadth 
from  the  right,  from  personal  favor  or  prejudice  ;  but 
Love,  on  the  contrary,  should  use  his  eyes  to  the 
fullest  extent,  in  order  that,  in  days  of  courtship,  no 
stumbling-block  may  be  left  to  become  a  torment 
after  marriage. 

A  moment's  consideration  will  show  how  utterly 
repugnant  it  is  to  all  manly  feelings  to  jest  in  this 
matter.  It  is  one  of  the  most  serious  concerns  of 
life.  Your  weal  or  woe  and  the  weal  or  woe  of  those 
who  shall  come  after  you,  and  the  influence  you  shall 
exert  upon  the  world,  depend,  in  a  great  measure, 
upon  the  wisdom  and  virtue  with  which  you  conduct 
your  preparation  for  marriage.  All  true  minds  see 
the  manifest  impropriety  of  jesting  about  the  most 
delicate,  serious,  and  sacred  relation  and  feeling  of 
human  experience.  The  whole  tendency  of  such 
lightness  is  to  cause  the  marriage  relation  to  be 
lightly  esteemed  and  the  true  aim  of  courtship  to  be 
lost  sight  of.  Until  it  i's  viewed  in  its  true  light, 
with  that  sober  earnestness  which  the  subject  de- 
mands, courtship  will  be  nothing  else  than  a  grand 
game  of  hypocrisy,  resulting  in  misery  the  most 
deplorable. 

Courtships  are  sweet  and  dreamy  thresholds  of 
unseen  temples,  where  half  the  world  has  paused  in 
couples,  talked  in  whispers  under  the  moonlight, 
passed  on,  but  never  returned.  It  should  be  to  all 


COURTSHIP.  403 

bu  the  entrance  to  scenes  of  happiness  and  content. 
But,  alas  !  in  the  history  of  many  we  know  that  such 
is  not  the  case.  We  have  been  but  poor  observers 
if  we  fail  to  recognize  that  marriage  is  not  necessarily 
a  blessing.  It  may  be  the  bitterest  curse ;  it  may 
sting  like  an  adder  and  bite  like  a  serpent.  Its 
bovver  is  as  often  made  of  thorns  as  of  roses.  It 
blasts  as  many  sunny  expectations  as  it  realizes,  and 
an  illy  mated  human  pair  is  the  most  woeful  picture 
of  wretchedness  that  is  presented  in  the  book  of  life ; 
and  yet  such  pictures  are  plenty. 

It  becomes  all  young  men  and  women,  who  are 
standing  where  the  radiant  beams  of  love  are  just 
beginning  to  gild  the  pathway  before  them,  to  en- 
deavor to  ascertain,  with  the  aid  of  others'  experi- 
ence, with  calm  and  careful  consideration,  with  an 
appeal  for  guidance  from  on  high,  whether  the  person 
he  or  she  proposes  to  unite  their  destiny  to  is  the 
one  with  whom,  of  all  the  world,  they  are  best 
adapted  to  make  the  journey.  If,  as  the  result  of 
such  reflection,  they  are  convinced  that  the  choice  is 
wise,  they  may  with  confidence  proceed  to  take  upon 
themselves  the  duties  and  privileges  of  the  marriage 
relation.  But  if  such  observation  shows  that  they 
have  heretofore  erred,  as  they  value  their  future  hap- 
piness and  the  happiness  of  others,  let  them  stop 
before  the  vow  is  said  that  indissolubly  unites  their 
fate  with  another's. 

Marriage  should  be  made  a  study.  Every  youth, 
both  male  and  female,  should  so  consider  it.  It  is 
the  grand  social  institution  of  humanity.  Its  laws 


404  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  relations  are  ot  momentous  importance  to  the 
race.  Should  it  be  entered  blindly,  in  total  ignorance 
of  what  it  is,  what  its  conditions  of  happiness  are  ? 
The  object  of  courtship  is  not  to  woo ;  it  is  not  to 
charm,  gratify,  or  please,  simply  for  the  present 
pleasure.  It  is  simply  for  the  selection  of  a  life  com 
panion — one  who  must  bear,  suffer,  and  enjoy  life 
with  us  in  all  of  its  forms  ;  in  its  frowns  as  well  as 
smiles,  joys,  and  sorrows — one  who  will  walk  pleas- 
antly, willingly,  and  confidingly  by  our  side  through 
all  the  intricate  and  changing  vicissitudes  incident  to 
mortal  life. 

What  is  to  be  sought  is  a  companion,  a  congenial 
spirit,  one  possessed  of  an  interior  constitution  of 
soul  similiar  to  our  own,  of  similar  age,  opinions, 
tastes,  habits,  modes  of  thought  and  feeling.  A  con- 
genial spirit  is  one  who,  under  any  given  combination 
of  circumstances,  would  be  affected,  feel,  and  act  as 
we  ourselves  would ;  it  is  one  who  would  approve 
what  we  approve  and  condemn  what  we  condemn, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  agreeing  with  us,  but  of  his  or 
her  own  free  will.  This  is  a  companion  who  is  already 
united  to  us  by  the  ties  of  spiritual  harmony,  which 
union  it  is  the  object  of  courtship  to  discover. 

Courtship,  then,  is  a  voyage  of  discovery  or  a 
court  of  inquiry,  established  by  mutual  consent  of  the 
parties,  to  see  wherein  and  to  what  extent  there  is  a 
harmony  existing.  If  in  all  these  they  honestly  and 
harmoniously  agree,  and  find  a  deep  and  thrilling 
pleasure  in  their  agreement,  find  their  union  of  senti- 
•ment  to  give  a  charm  to  their  social  intercourse;  if 


COURTSHIP.  405 

now  they  feel  that  their  hearts  are  bound  as  well  as 
their  sentiments  in  a  holy  unity,  and  that  for  each 
other  they  would  live  and  labor  and  make  every  per- 
sonal sacrifice  with  gladness,  and  that  without  each 
other  they  know  not  how  to  live,  it  is  their  privilege, 
yes,  their  duty  to  form  a  matrimonial  alliance. 

The  true  companion  has  to  be  sought  for.  She 
does  not  parade  herself  as  store  goods.  She  is  not 
fashionable.  Generally  she  is  not  rich.  But,  oh ! 
what  a  heart  she  has  when  you  find  her — so  large 
and  pure  and  womanly.  When  you  see  it  you  won- 
der if  those  showy  things  outside  were  really  women. 
Courtship  is  the  brilliant  scene  in  the  maiden  life  of  a 
woman.  It  is  to  her  a  garden  where  no  weeds  mingle 
with  the  flowers,  but  all  is  lovely  and  beautiful  to  the 
sense.  It  is  a  dish  of  nightingales  served  up  by 
moonlight  to  the  mingled  music  of  many  tendernesses 
and  gentle  whisperings  and  eagerness,  that  does  not 
outstep  the  bounds  of  delicacy. 

Courtship  is  the  first  turning  point  in  the  life  of 
a  woman,  crowded  with  perils  and  temptation.  The 
rose  tints  of  affection  dazzle  and  bewilder  the  imagi- 
nation, and  while  always  bearing  in  mind  that  life 
without  love  is  a  wilderness,  it  should  not  be  over- 
looked that  true  affection  requires  solid  support. 
Discretion  tempers  passion,  and  it  is  precisely  this 
quality  which  oftener  than  any  other  is  found  to  be 
absent  in  courtship.  Young  persons  require  wise 
counselors.  They  should  not  trust  too  much  to  the 
impulse  of  the  heart,  nor  be  too  easily  captivated  by 
a  winning  exterior. 


406  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

In  the  selection  of  a  wife  a  pure,  loving  heart 
and  good  common  sense  are  many  times  more  valu- 
able than  personal  beauty  or  wealth.  Once  installed 
in  the  affections  of  such  a  lady,  you  have  a  life  claim 
on  her  good  offices.  No  sacrifice  she  can  make  is 
too  great,  no  adversity  so  stern  that  it  can  shake 
her  firmness  or  hopefulness.  Such  a  woman  is  a 
helpmeet  as  the  Creator  designed  a  wife  to  be.  It 
is  an  error,  which  has  proved  fatal  to  many  young 
lives,  to  marry  one  whom  you  consider  your  inferior 
in  mind  or  body.  A  wife  has  the  power  to  make  or 
destroy  the  home,  and  a  weak  heart  and  shallow 
brain  can  never  have  the  former  effect. 

There  can  be  no  such  a  thing  as  interchange  of 
sentiment  where  she  does  not  appreciate  your  high- 
est thoughts.  Can  you  reveal  to  her  the  sacred 
treasures  of  mind,  which  lie  hidden  from  the  careless 
gaze  of  others,  and  be  assured  of  her  sympathy? 
Can  she  walk  hand  in  hand  with  you  as  her  equal, 
honored  above  all  women  ?  Is  she  fit  to  sit  in  your 
household  as  a  shining  light,  respected  for  her  gentle 
dignity  and  the  wisdom  of  her  management  and  con- 
versation ?  The  quiet,  reserved  girl  does  not  always 
possess  these  qualifications  ;  neither  does  the  bright, 
gay  creature,  whose  presence  throws  a  halo  over  her 
surroundings.  The  poor  are  no  more  likely  to  have 
the  proper  gifts  and  trainings  than  those  who  never 
knew  a  wish  ungratified.  But  any  woman  of  noble 
principles,  a  warm  heart,  and  good  common  sense 
to  guide  her  can  easily  reach  the  standard. 

There,  is  equal  danger  before  the  young  lady  in 


COURTSHIP.  407 

her  choice,  of  a  husband.  Young  men  inclined  to 
intemperate  habits,  even  but  slightly  so,  as  they  have 
not  sufficient  moral  stamina  to  enable  them  to  resist 
temptation  even  in  its  incipient  stages,  and  are  conse- 
quently deficient  in  self-respect,  can  not  possess  that 
pure,  uncontaminated  feeling  which  alone  capacitates 
a  man  for  rightly  appreciating  the  tender  and  loving 
nature  of  a  true  woman. 

It  is  equally  fatal  for  a  woman  to  marry  a  man  who 
is  her  inferior.  She  of  necessity  descends  to  his  level. 
Being  his  superior  in  every  good  sense  of  the  word, 
she  can  not  have  for  him  that  high  feeling  of  regard 
which  every  wife  should  have  for  her  husband.  Lack- 
ing that,  love  too  soon  fades  away,  and  only  the  du- 
ties of  married  life  remain  ;  its  pleasures  are  all  gone. 
What  is  wanted  in  both  is  a  true  companion  ;  not  one 
who  possesses  wealth,  not  necessarily  the  possessor 
of  a  scholastic  education,  but  one  who  has  a  pure, 
warm  heart  and  good  common  sense. 

A  true  courtship  is  with  all  a  beautiful  sight. 
Only  the  coarse  and  illiterate  can  there  see  aught 
for  ridicule  or  unseemly  jest.  It  is  the  flowing  to- 
gether of  two  separate  lives  that  have  heretofore 
been  divided,  now  mysteriously  brought  together  to 
flow  on  through  all  time,  and  only  God  in  his  infinite 
wisdom  knows  how  far  in  the  shadowy  hereafter. 


408  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


iHE  marriage  ceremony  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting and  solemn  spectacles  that  social  life 
presents.  To  see  two  rational  creatures,  in  the 
glow  of  youth  and  hope  which  invests  life  in  a 
halo  of  happiness,  appear  together  and  ac- 
knowledge their  preference  for  each  other,  voluntarily 
enter  into  a  league  of  perpetual  friendship  and  amity, 
and  call  on  all  to  witness  the  sanctity  of  their  vows, 
awakens  deep  feeling  in  the  hearts  of  all  beholders. 
A  holy  influence  is  felt  to  pervade  the  place  ;  the 
spirit  of  the  hour  is  sacramental. 

Though  mirth  may  abound  before  and  after  the 
irrevocable  formula  is  spoken,  yet  at  that  particular 
point  of  time  there  is  a  shadow  on  the  most  laughing 
lip,  a  moisture  in  the  firmest  eye  ;  and  it  may  well 
be  so.  To  think  of  the  endearing  relations,  and  the 
important  consequences  which  are  to  flow  from  it  as 
the  couple  walk  side  by  side  through  life,  participat- 
ing in  the  same  joys  and  sharing  the  same  sorrows, 
two  weak,  frail  human  natures  thus  taking  upon  them- 
selves, in  the  sight  of  God  and  man,  the  weighty 
duties  of  a  new  and  untried  state  of  existence,  exerts 
a  solemn  influence  on  all. 

All  pictures  of  human  happiness  represent  sorrow 
in  the  background.  Thus  the  wedding  ceremony. 
True,  it  is  considered  an  occasion  of  great  joy;  but 
there  remains  the  thought,  the  smile  that  kindles  to 
ecstasy  at  their  union  will  at  last  be  quenched  in  the 


MARRIAGE.  409 

tears  of  the  survivor.  Man  may  unite,  but  death 
only  separates.  If  from  this  proceed  some  of  the 
deepest  joys  of  life,  from  hence  also  come  not  un fre- 
quently the  deepest  sorrows. 

There  is  no  one  thing  more  lovely  in  this  life, 
more  full  of  the  divinest  courage,  than  when  a  young 
maiden — from  her  past  life  ;  from  her  happy  child- 
hood, when  she  rambled  over  every  field  and  moor 
around  her  home;  when  a  mother  anticipated  her 
wants  and  soothed  her  little  cares  ;  when  brothers 
and  sisters  grew  from  merry  playmates  to  loving, 
trustful  friends  ;  from  the  Christmas  gatherings  and 
romps,  the  festival  in  bower  or  garden ;  from  the 
rooms  sanctified  by  the  death  of  relatives  ;  from  the 
holy  and  secure  background  of  her  early  life — looks 
out  into  a  dark  and  unknown  future,  away  from  all 
that,  and  yet  unterrifiecl,  undaunted,  undertakes  the 
journey,  with  a  trusting  confidence  in  the  one  beside 
her.  Buoyed  up  with  the  confidence  of  requited  love, 
she  bids  a  fond  and  grateful  adieu  to  the  life  that  is 
passed,  she  turns  with  excited  hopes  and  joyful  an- 
ticipations of  happiness  to  what  is  to  come. 

Then  woe  to  the  man  who  can  blast  such  hopes, 
who  can  break  the  illusions  that  have  won  her,  and 
destroy  the  confidence  which  his  love  inspired  !  Mar- 
riage offers  the  most  effective  opportunity  for  spoiling 
the  life  of  another.  Nobody  can  debase,  harass,  and 
ruin  a  woman  as  her  own  husband,  and  nobody  can 
do  a  tithe  as  much  to  chill  a  man's  aspiration  for 
good,  to  paralyze  his  energies,  as  his  wife ;  and  a 
man  is  never  irretrievably  ruined  in  his  prospects  till 


410  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

he  marries  a  bad  woman.  Perhaps  there  is  no  hour 
in  the  life  of  a  man  or  woman  more  potential  for  weal 
or  woe  than  the  marriage  hour.  That  is  the  hour 
from  whence  most  men  can  date  their  success  or  fail- 
ure ;  for  while  nothing  is  a  greater  incentive  to  a 
man  to  put  forth  all  his  exertions  than  for  the  sake 
of  his  wife,  and  while  her  society  is  the  place  where 
he  forgets  the  cares  of  the  world,  and  in  its  quiet  rest 
finds  new  courage  to  take  up  life's  load,  yet  has  a 
wife  equal  power  for  ill. 

Be  a  man  ever  so  ambitious,  energetic,  or  industri- 
ous, yet  with  a  careless  or  spendthrift  wife  his  best 
efforts  for  success  are  vain.  And  nothing  will  sooner 
discourage  a  man  than  a  wife  too  ignorant  or  too 
careless  to  understand,  appreciate,  and  sympathize 
with  his  efforts.  And  for  the  woman,  too,  it  is  at 
once  the  happiest  and  saddest  hour  of  her  life.  It  is 
the  promise  of  future  bliss,  raised  on  the  death  of  all 
present  enjoyment.  She  quits  her  home,  her  par- 
ents, her  companions,  her  occupation,  her  amuse- 
ments, her  every  thing  upon  which  she  has  hitherto 
depended  for  comfort,  for  affection,  for  kindness,  for 
pleasure. 

With  the  marriage  ceremony  she  enters  a  new 
world  ;  but  it  is  with  her  a  world  from  whence  she 
can  not  return.  If  the  man  of  her  choice  be  an  up- 
right, pure  man,  with  manly  traits  of  character,  indus- 
trious and  honest,  in  the  majority  of  cases  she  is  to 
blame  if  it  be  not  to  her  a  world  of  happiness.  But 
if  she  has  erred,  and  she  finds  herself  bound  for  life 
with  one  inferior  to  her,  or  who  is  enslaved  to  habit 


MARRIAGE.  411 

or  temper,  or  destitute  of  manly  attributes,  God  help 
her  !     Her  future  is  full  of  misery. 

A  man's  moral  character  is  necessarily  powerfully 
influenced  by  his  wife.  A  lower  nature  will  drag 
him  down,  as  a  higher  one  will  lift  him  up.  The 
former  will  deaden  his  sympathies,  dissipate  his  ener- 
gies, and  distort  his  life,  while  the  latter,  by  satisfy- 
ing his  affections,  will  strengthen  his  moral  nature, 
and,  by  giving  him  repose,  tend  to  energize  his  in- 
tellect. Not  only  so,  but  a  woman  of  high  principle 
will  insensibly  elevate  the  aim  and  purpose  of  her 
husband,  as  one  of  low  principles  will  unconsciously 
degrade  them.  In  the  course  of  life  we  may  see  even 
a  weak  man  display  real  public  virtue,  because  he 
had  by  his  side  a  woman  of  noble  character,  who 
sustained  him  in  his  career,  and  exercised  a  fortifying 
influence  on  his  views  of  public  duty ;  while,  on  the 
contrary,  all  have  often  witnessed  men  of  grand  and 
generous  instincts  transformed  into  vulgar  self-seek- 
ers by  contact  with  women  of  narrow  natures,  de- 
voted to  an  imbecile  love  of  pleasure,  and  from  whose 
minds  the  grand  motive  of  duty  was  altogether  ab- 
sent. As  wives  may  exercise  a  great  moral  influence 
upon  their  husbands,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are 
few  men  strong  enough  to  resist  the  influence  of  a 
lower  character  in  a  wife.  If  she  does  not  sustain 
and  elevate  what  is  highest  in  his  nature,  she  will 
speedily  reduce  him  to  her  own  level.  Thus  a  wife 
may  be  the  making  or  unmaking  of  the  best  of  men. 
It  is  by  the  regimen  of  the  domestic  affections 
that  the  heart  of  man  is  best  composed  and  regulated. 


412  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

The  home  is  the  woman's  kingdom,  her  state,  her 
world  where  she  governs  by  affection,  by  kindness, 
by  the  power  of  gentleness.  There  is  nothing  which 
so  settles  the  turbulence  of  a  man's  nature  as  his 
union  in  life  with  a  high-minded  woman.  There  he 
finds  rest,  contentment,  and  happiness — rest  of  brain 
and  peace  of  spirit.  He  will  also  often  find  in  her 
his  best  counselor ;  for  her  instinctive  tact  will  usually 
lead  him  right,  where  his  own  unaided  reason  might 
be  apt  to  go  wrong. 

The  true  wife  is  a  staff  to  lean  upon  in  times  of 
trial  and  difficulty,  and  she  is  never  wanting  in  sym- 
pathy and  solace  when  distress  occurs  or  fortune 
frowns.  In  the  time  of  youth  she  is  a  comfort  and 
an  ornament  of  man's  life,  and  she  remain's  a  faithful 
helpmate  in  maturer  years,  when  life  has  ceased  to 
be  in  anticipation,  and  we  live  in  its  realities.  Of  all 
the  institutions  that  effect  human  weal  or  woe  on 
earth  none  is  more  important  than  marriage.  It  is 
the  foundation  of  the  great  social  fabric,  and  conceals 
within  its  mystic  relations  the  coiled  secrets  of  the 
largest  proportion  of  happiness  and  misery  connected 
with  the  lot  of  man. 

Marriage,  to  be  a  blessing,  must  be  properly  en- 
tered. It  has  its  fundamental  laws,  which  must  be 
obeyed.  It  is  not  a  mysterious,  wonder-working  in- 
stitution of  the  Almighty,  which  can  not  be  studied 
by  the  common  mind,  but  a  simple  necessity  laid  in 
man's  social  nature,  which  may  be  read  and  under- 
stood of  all  men  who  will  investigate  that  nature. 
The  reasons  for  every  enjoyment  of  the  matrimonial 


MARRIAGE.  413 

life  may  be  understood  before  entering  upon  its 
relations.  The  conditions  upon  which  its  joys  and 
advantages  are  realized  may  be  learned  beforehand. 
It  should  not  be  entered  in  blindness,  but  rather  in 
the  daylight  of  a  perfect  knowledge  of  its  rules  and 
regulations,  its  promises  and  conditions,  its  laws  and 
privileges,  so  that  no  uncertainty  shall  attend  its 
realization,  no  unhappy  revealments  shall  follow  a 
knowledge  of  its  reality. 

Marriage,  then,  should  be  made  a  study.  Every 
youth,  both  male  and  female,  should  so  consider  it. 
It  is  the  grand  social  institution  of  humanity.  Its 
laws  and  relations  are  of  momentous  importance  to 
the  race.  Shall  it  be  entered  blindly,  in  total  igno- 
rance of  what  it  is,  what  its  conditions  of  happiness 
are?  Its  relations  involve  some  of  the  most  stern 
duties  and  acts  of  self-denial  that  men  are  called 
upon  to  perform.  Shall  youth  enter  upon  its  rela- 
tions without  a  knowledge  of  these  duties?  For  all 
the  professions,  trades,  and  callings  in  life  men  and 
women  prepare  themselv.es  by  previous  attention  to 
their  principles  and  duties.  They  study  them, — de- 
vote time  and  money  to  them.  Every  imaginable 
case  of  difficulty  or  trial  is  considered  and  duly  dis- 
posed of  according  to  the  general  principles  of  the 
trade  or  profession.  But  marriage  —  incomparably 
the  most  important  and  holy  relation  of  life,  involv- 
ing, the  most  sacred  responsibilities  and  influences, 
social,  civil,  and  religious,  that  bear  upon  men — is 
entered  upon  in  hot  haste  or  blind  stupidity,  by  a 
great  majority  of  youth. 


414  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

No  young1  man  has  any  right  to  ask  a  young 
woman  to  enter  the  matrimonial  bonds  with  him  till 
he  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  female  constitu- 
tion and  character.  Woman  loves  the  strong,  the 
resolute,  and  the  vigorous  in  man.  To  these  quali- 
ties she  looks  for  protection.  Under  the  shadow  of 
their  wings  she  feels  secure.  But  she  wants  them 
blended  with  the  tender,  the  sensitive,  and  the  lofty 
in  sentiment.  Her  companionship,  her  joy,  she  finds 
in  these  sentiments.  Where  she  finds  these  she  pours 
the  full  tides  of  her  loving  soul,  and  willingly  enters 
the  bower  of  conjugal  felicity.  He  who  knows  not 
her  nature  knows  not  how  to  gratify  and  satisfy  that 
nature.  So  woman  should  know  the  nature  of  man. 
The  rough  world  often  makes  him  appear  what  he  is 
not.  He  has  a  vein  of  tenderness  below  the  stern-- 
ness of  his  worldly  manners  which  woman  should 
know  how  to  penetrate  and  bring  for  her  own,  as 
well  as  for  his,  proper  enjoyment.  It  is  in  this  strata 
of  tenderness  that  she  finds  her  true  companionship 
with  him,  and  he  with  her.  If  she  is  ignorant  of  his 
nature  she  knows  not  how  to  supply  his  wants  or 
answer  the  calls  of  that  nature.  Thus  we  see  most 
clearly  the  necessity  of  a  thorough  study  of  this 
whole  subject  by  every  youth.  It  is  ignorance  in 
these  matters  that  causes  a  great  amount  of  matri- 
monial infelicity. 

Some  are  disappointed  in  marriage  because  they 
expect  too  much  from  it;  but  many  more  because 
they  do  not  bring  into  the  copartnership  their  fair 
share  of  cheerfulness,  kindness,  forbearance,  and 


MARRIAGE.  415 

common  sense.  Their  imagination  has  pictured  a 
condition  of  things  never  experienced  on  this  side  of 
heaven,  and  when  real  life  comes  with  its  troubles 
and  cares  there  is  a  sudden  wakening  up  as  from  a 
dream.  Or,  they  look  for  something  approaching 
perfection  in  their  chosen  companion,  and  discover 
by  experience  that  the  fairest  of  characters  have 
their  weaknesses.  Yet  it  is  often  the  very  imperfec- 
tion of  human  nature,  rather  than  its  perfections,  that 
makes  the  strongest  claims  on  the  forbearance  and 
sympathy  of  others  and,  in  affectionate  and  sensible 
natures,  tends  to  produce  the  closest  unions. 

Marriage  is  the  source  from  whence  originates, 
as  from  a  radiant  point,  the  most  beautiful  glories  of 
life,  and  also  the  deepest  cares.  .  Talk  as  we  will  of 
marriage,  it  is  a  real  affair — it  abounds  in  homely 
details.  The  joys  of  the  wedding  morn  are  quickly 
followed  by  the  anxious  cares  of  daily  life.  But 
if  entered  understandingly,  and  lived  as  becomes 
thoughtful,  considerate  human  beings,  each  of  whom 
tries  to  bear  with  the  other's  infirmities,  and  to  con- 
sider the  other's  happiness  as  paramount  with  their 
own,  it  then  becomes  a  delightful  scene  of  domestic 
happiness,  to  which  all  true  men  and  women  look 
forward  as  the  condition  of  life  most  consonant  to 
their  true  happiness. 


416  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


jN  the  minds  of  nearly  all  properly  constituted  in- 
dividuals there  exists  the  hope  and  expectation 
of  marriage.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  law 
of  God  as  written  in  our  physical  being,  and  the 
young  man  who  marries  not,  save  in  a  few  excep- 
tional cases,  arising  out  of  ill  health,  deformity,  or 
eccentricity  of  character,  fails  in  one  of  the  most 
palpable  duties  of  life.  He  deprives  himself  of  life's 
most  refined  and  exalted  pleasures,  of  some  of  its 
strongest  incentives  to  virtue  and  activity,  sets  an 
example  unworthy  of  imitation,  and  fails  to  do  much 
good  that  he  might  do  in  society.  Moreover,  he 
leaves  one  who  might  have  made  him  a  happy  and 
useful  companion  to  pine  in  maidenhood  of  heart 
through  all  the  weary  days  of  life. 

A  single  life  is  not  without  its  advantages,  while 
a  married  one  that  fails  of  accomplishing  its  true  end 
is  the  acme  of  earthly  wretchedness.  It  is  eminently 
proper  to  prepare  for  marriage,  since  this  is  designed 
by  the  Almighty  Author  to  promote  the  health,  hap- 
piness, purity,  and  real  greatness  of  our  species. 
But  it  is  an  error  to  fancy  that  you  can  not  be  truly 
happy  in  a  single  state,  or  hastily  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  married  life  without  due  considera- 
tion. There  is  many  a  wife  who,  having  married 
hastily  and  with  a  lack  of  due  caution,  has  buried 
her  hopes  even  of  happiness  deep  in  a  grave  of  de- 
spair. And  many  a  man  who  married  without  due 


SINGLE  LIFE.  417 

thought  and  consideration  can  date  from  that  hour 
the  death  of  his  ambitious  purposes,  and  in  the  dis- 
appointments of  married  life  lose  sight  of  the  glorious 
hopes  which  inspired  him  while  single. 

If  the  greatest  happiness,  and  perhaps  the  only 
real  and  genuine  kind,  is  to  be  found  in  the  blessings 
of  chaste  and  devoted  love,  yet  matrimony,  it  must 
be  acknowledged,  is  chargeable  with  numberless 
solicitudes  and  responsibilities ;  and  if  it  often  causes 
the  heart  to  exult  in  joy,  it  as  frequently  makes  it 
throb  with  pain.  If  it  does  not  fall  to  your  lot  to 
participate  in  the  delights  and  pleasures  of  a  happy 
and  reciprocal  union  of  hearts;  if  destiny  has  re- 
stricted your  sympathies  and  thwarted  your  desires, 
and  consigned  you,  perhaps  unwillingly,  to  solitude  and 
celibacy ;  if  you  are  only  a  neutral  .spectator  of  those 
scenes  wherein  great  artifice  and  deception,  unfair- 
ness and  insincerity  are  too  often  practiced,  and  often 
hearts  are  won,  but  happiness  lost,  you  may  console 
yourself  that  there  are  many  positive  advantages  in 
being  alone.  The  command  of  time  and  freedom 
from,  many  cares  should  open  the  way  to  new  and 
beneficial  sources  of  pastime  and  usefulnes  suffi- 
cient to  reconcile  you  to  your  condition,  and  to  make 
it  as  enviable  as  that  of  those  who  have  more  incum- 
brances  but  less  ease,  and  who  sometimes  act  as  if 
the  world  was  made  for  matrimony  and  nothing  else-. 

From    the    actions    and    conversations    of    some 

people   you  would    suppose    that    marriage   was    the 

chief  end  of  life,  which  view  is  altogether  degrading 

and  debasing  in  its  tendency.     For  while  admitting 

27 


418  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

that  it  is,  indeed,  that  state  of  life  most  becoming  the 
dignity  and  happiness  of  man,  yet  it  is  not  true  that 
single  life  does  not  present  fields  of  usefulness  and 
honor,  and  that,  above  all  things,  it  is  true  wisdom  to 
remain  single  to  the  end  of  your  days,  unless  you  are 
satisfied  that  it  is  advisable  to  unite  your  destiny  with 
that  of  another. 

Marriage  has  a  great  refining  and  moralizing 
tendency.  When  a  man  marries  early  and  uses 
prudence  in  choosing  a  suitable  companion,  he  is 
likely  to  lead  a  virtuous,  happy  life ;  but  in  an  un- 
married state  all  alluring  vices  have  a  tendency  to 
draw  him  away.  Marriage  renders  a  man  more  vir- 
tuous and  more  wise.  An  unmarried  man  is  but 
half  of.  a  perfect  being,  and  it  requires  the  other 
half  to  make  things  right ;  and  it  can  not  be  ex- 
pected that  in  this  imperfect  state  he  can  keep 
straight  in  the  path  of  rectitude  any  more  than  that 
a  boat  with  one  oar  can  keep  a  straight  course. 
Marriage  changes  the  current  of  a  man's  feelings, 
and  gives  him  a  center  for  his  thoughts,  his  affec- 
tions, and  his  acts. 

There  are  exceptions  to  every  rule ;  but  the 
chances  are  that  the  young  man  who  marries  will 
make  a  stronger  and  better  fight  all  through  life  than 
he  who  remains  single.  The  reason  of  this  is  not 
difficult  to  find.  A  man  will  not  put  forth  all  his 
energies  who  has  not  something  outside  of  self  to 
draw  him  on  and  to  incite  him  to  put  forth  his  best 
exertions.  He  also  feels  the  lack  of  a  home,  which 
tends  to  round  out  life.  He  may,  indeed,  have  a 


SINGLE  LIFE.  419 

place  to  eat,  a  place  to  sleep,  and,  for  that  matter,  all 
the  luxury  that  money  can  buy  rt  but  we  have  long 
since  learned  that  money  will  not  buy  every  thing. 
It  is  utterly  beyond  its  power  to  purchase  a  home  and 
the  treasures  of  love.  This  the  unmarried  man  can 
not  obtain.  He  may  be  courted  for  his  money ;  he 
may  eat,  drink,  and  revel ;  and  he  may  sicken  and  die 
in  a  hotel  or  a  garret,  with  plenty  of  attendants 
about  him.  But,  alas !  what  are  attendants,  waiting 
like  so  many  cormorants  for  their  prey,  as  compared 
with  those  whose  hearts  are  knit  to  him  by  the  strong 
ties  of  family  relationship. 

If  marriage  increases  the  cares  it  also  heightens 
the  pleasures  of  life.  If  it,  in  some  instances,  damp- 
ens the  enthusiasm  and  seems  a  hindrance  to  success 
in  countless  instances  it  has  proved  to  be  the  in- 
centive which  has  called  forth  the  best  part  of  man's 
nature,  roused  him  from  selfish  apathy,  and  inspired 
in  him  those  generous  principles  and  high  resolves 
which  have  caused  all  his  after  life  to  be  replete  with 
kindly  acts,  and  himself  to  develop  into  a  character 
known,  loved,  and  honored  by  all  within  the  sphere 
of  its  influence. 

Jeremy  Taylor,  in  contrasting  single  life  with 
married  life,  says,  in  his  quaint  style:  "Marriage  is 
a  school  and  exercise  of  virtue,  and  though  marriage 
hath  cares,  yet  single  life  hath  desires  which  are  more 
troublesome  and  more  dangerous,  and  often  end  in 
sin ;  while  the  cares  are  but  exercises  of  piety,  and. 
therefore,  if  single  life  hath  more  privacy  of  devotion, 
yet  marriage  hath  more  variety  of  it,  and  is  an  exer- 


420  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

cise  of  more  grace.  Marriage  is  the  proper  scene 
of  piety  and  patience,  of  the  duty  of  parents,  and  the 
charity  of  relations ;  here  kindness  is  spread  abroad, 
and  love  is  united  and  made  firm  as  a  center. 

"  Marriage  is  the  nursery  of  heaven.  The  virgin 
sends  prayers  to  God,  but  she  carries  but  one  soul 
to  him ;  but  the  state  of  marriage  fills  up  the  number 
of  the  elect,  and  hath  in  it  the  labor  of  love  and  the 
delicacies  of  friendship,  the  blessings  of  society,  and 
the  union  of  hearts  and  hands.  It  hath  in  it  more 
safety  than  single  life  hath ;  it  hath  more  care  ;  it  is 
more  merry  and  more  sad ;  it  is  fuller  of  joys  and 
sorrows;  it  lies  under  more  burdens,  but  it  is  sup- 
ported by  all  the  strength  of  love  and  charity,  which 
makes  those  burdens  delightful.  Marriage  is  the 
mother  of  the  world,  and  preserves  kingdoms,  and 
fills  cities  and  churches  and  heaven  itself,  and  is  thai: 
state  of  good  things  to  which  God  hath  designed  the 
present  constitution  of  the  world." 

Though  a  great  deal  can  be  urged  against  mar- 
riage at  too  early  an  age,  or  against  hasty  and  inju- 
dicious marriages,  still  there  arrives  a  time  in  tlie  life 
oi  every  individual  when  it  would  be  a  great  deal 
wiser  for  him  to  marry  than  to  remain  single.  And 
we  suppose  that  the  number  of  bachelors  who  re- 
main single  all  their  life  is  exceedingly  small ;  com- 
paratively few  of  them  die  unmarried.  When  least 
expected  they  contract  matrimonial  alliances,  thereby 
ofttimes  disappointing  numerous  prot'eges,  who  have 
been  confidently  expecting  that  they  would  come  in 
»br  the  property.  And  the  ^chances  are  against  such 


SINGLE  LIFE.  421 

marriages  being  happy,  for  it  is  more  one  of  conven- 
ience, both  on  his  part  and  that  of  his  wife.  She 
probably  takes  him  because  he  is  wealthy  and  can 
provide  her  with  a  first-rate  establishment.  He  prob- 
ably marries  her  because  he  is  insufferably  lonely 
and  wishes  to  have  a  home  of  his  own,  where,  if  he 
can  not  do  every  thing  as  he  likes,  he  is  certain  of 
a  real  welcome. 

Though  many  of  the  most  pathetic  sorrows  of  life 
are  caused  by  the  endearing  relations  existing,  by 
marriage,  between  the  suffering  one  and  another,  yet 
deep  in  the  heart  of  many  who  walk  through  life 
alone,  unattended  by  the  sympathy  of  a  loving  com- 
panion, 

"  Lies 
Deeply  buried  from  human  eyes" 

some  of  the  deepest  and  most  soul-pervading  griefs 
that  humanity  knows  of.  Perhaps  that  old  man,  now 
so  cross  and  fretful,  whom  we  call  "old  bachelor," 
even  now  has  a  mistiness  come  in  his  eye  and  a 
pathetic  tremor  in  his  tongue  as  he  looks  at  a  faded 
picture,  to  him  too  sacred  for  the  curious  gaze  of 
others — a  picture  whose  limning  has  faded  as  the  real 
one  faded  long  ago  under  the  coffin  lid.  And  there 
are,  no  doubt,  many  whom  we  call  selfish,  proud, 
cold-hearted  men  who  once  were  as  warm-hearted 
and  generous  as  any  could  wish,  who  once  poured 
out  all  the  wealth  of  their  affections  on  one  unworthy 
of  them,  the  discovery  of  which  changed  their  whole 
nature. 

There  are   women  whom  the  world  calls  single, 


422  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

who  are  as  truly  wedded  to  a  tear-stained  package 
as  if  it  really  were  the  being  it  represents  to 'them—- 
who live  in  the  old,  sweet  time  those  missives  once 
belonged  to,  and  who  keep  their  hearts  apart  from 
the  dull  reality  that  makes  up  the  present  world 
Years  may  have  passed,  and  nothing  remains  the 
same  except  the  dear  dream  that  never  knew  reality, 
yet,  held  in  their  love-life  by  their  fragile  paper 
bonds,  they  still  dwell  in  that  fair,  unsubstantial 
Spring-time,  while  Autumn  fades  and  Winter,  cold 
and  dreary,  reigns  in  all  the  outer  world. 


|HE  marriage  institution  is  the  bond  of  social 
order,  and  if  treated  with  due  respect,  care, 
and  consideration  greatly  enhances  individual 
happiness  and  consequently  general  good.  The 
Spartan  law  punished  those  who  did  not  marry,  those 
who  married  too  late,  and  those  who  married  im- 
properly. Though  positive  law  has  long  since  ceased 
to  exercise  any  discretion  as  to  whether  a  person 
marries  or  remains  single,  yet,  as  the  foundation  of 
marriage  is  fixed  in  the  law  of  God,  written  in  our 
physical  being,  it  follows  that  it  is  none  the  less  true 
now  than  in  the  morning  of  time  that  it  is  "not  good 
for  man  to  be  alone."  For  ages  history  has  showi? 
that  the  permanent  union  of  one  man  with  one  woman 
establishes  a  relation  of  affection  and  interest  which 


MARRIED  LIFE.  423 

can  in  no  other  way  be  made  to  exist  between  two 
human  beings.  Hence  marriage,  both  from  a  theo- 
retical and  a  practical  point  of  view,  becomes  to  him 
an  aid  in  the  stern  conflicts  of  life. 

Many  a  man  has  risen  from  obscurity  to  fame 
who  in  the  days  of  his  triumphant  victory  has  freely 
and  gracefully  acknowledged  that  to  the  sympathy 
and  encouragement  of  his  wife  during  the  long  and 
'weary  years  of  toil  he  owed  very  much  of  his  achieved 
success.  The  good  wife !  How  much  of  this  world's 
happiness  and  prosperity  is  contained  in  the  compass 
of  these  two  short  words !  Her  influence  is  im- 
mense. The  power  of  a  w:fe  for  good  or  for  evil  is 
altogether  irresistible.  Home  must  be  the  seat  of 
happiness  or  it  must  be  forever  unknown.  A  good 
wife  is  to  a  man  wisdom  and  courage,  strength  and 
endurance ;  a  bad  one  is  confusion  and  weakness, 
discomfiture  and  despair.  No  condition  in  life  is 
hopeless  when  the  wife  possesses  firmness,  decision, 
energy,  and  economy.  There  is  no  outward  pros- 
perity which  can  counteract  indolence,  folly,  and  ex- 
travagance at  home.  No  spirit  can  long  resist  bad 
domestic  influences. 

Man  is  strong,  but  his  strength  is  not  adamant. 
He  delights  in  enterprise  and  action ;  but  to  sustain 
him  he  needs  a  tranquil  mind  and  a  whole  heart. 
He  expends  his  moral  force  in  the  conflicts  of  the 
world.  In  the  true  wife  the  husband  finds  not  affec- 
tion only,  but  companionship — a  companionship  with 
which  no  other  can  compare.  The  family  relation- 
ship gives  retirement  with  solitude,  and  society  with- 


424  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

out  the  rough  intrusion  of  the  world.  It  plants  in 
the  husband's  dwelling  a  friend  who  can  bear  his 
silence  without  weariness ;  who  can  listen  to  the  de- 
tails that  affect  his  interests  or  sympathy;  who  can 
appreciate  his  repetition  of  events,  only  important  ar 
they  are  embalmed  in  the  heart. 

Common  friends  are  linked  to  us  by  a  slender 
thread.  We  must  reclaim  them  by  ministering  to 
their  interests  or  their  enjoyments.  What  a  luxury 
it  is  for  a  man  to  feel  that  in  his  home  there  is  a 
true  and  devoted  being,  in  whose  presence  he  may 
throw  off  restraint  without  danger  to  his  dignity,  he 
may  confide  without  fear  of  treachery,  and  be  poor  or 
unfortunate  without  fear  of  being  abandoned.  If  in 
the  outer  world  he  grows  weary  of  human  selfishness, 
his  heart  can  safely  trust  in  one  whose  indulgence 
overlooks  his  defects. 

The  treasure  of  a  wife's  affection,  like  the  grace 
of  God,  is  given,  not  bought.  Gold  is  power.  It 
can  sweep  down  forests,  raise  cities,  build  roads,  and 
deck  houses ;  but  wealth  can  not  purchase  love  and 
the  affections  of  a  wife.  If  any  husband  has  failed  to 
estimate  the  affections  of  a  true  wife,  he  will  be  likely 
to  mark  their  value  in  his  loss,  when  the  heart  that 
loved  him  is  stilled  by  death.  Is  man  the  child  of 
sorrow,  and  do  afflictions  and  distresses  pour  their 
bitternesses  into  his  cup?  How  are  his  trials  alle- 
viated, his  sighs  suppressed,  his  corroding  thoughts 
dissipated,  his  anxieties  and  fears  relieved,  his  gloom 
and  depression  chased  away  by  her  cheerfulness  and 
love!  Is  he  overwhelmed  by  disappointments  and 


MARRIED  LIFE.  425 

mortified  by  reproaches  ?  There  is  one  who  can  hide 
his  faults  from  her  eyes,  and  can  love  without  up- 
braiding. 

A  judicious  wife  is  constantly  exerting  an  influ- 
ence for  good  over  her  husband.  She  is,  so  to 
speak,  the  wielder  of  the  moral  pruning  knife,  and  is 
constantly  snipping  off  from  her  husband's  moral  na- 
ture little  twigs  that  are  growing  in  the  wrong 
direction.  Intellectual  beings  of  different  sexes  were 
surely  intended  by  their  Creator  to  go  through  the 
world  thus  together,  united  not  only  in  hand  and 
heart,  but  in  principles,  in  intellect,  in  views,  and  in 
dispositions,  each  pursuing  one  common  and  noble 
end — their  own  improvement  and  the  happiness  of 
those  around  them  by  the  different  means  appropri- 
ate to  their  situation,  mutually  correcting,  sustaining, 
and  strengthening  each  other,  undegraded  by  all  prac- 
tices of  tyranny  on  the  one  hand  and  deceit  on  the 
other,  each  finding  a  candid  but  severe  judge  in  the 
understanding,  and  a  warm  and  partial  advocate  in 
the  heart,  of  their  companion. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  in  a  cynical  way 
about  the  immense  number  of  unhappy  marriages. 
There  is  so  much  said  on  this  subject  that  it  is  easy 
to  forget  that  for  every  instance  of  complaint  there 
are  thousands  of  beneficent  and  prosperous  unions 
of  which  the  world  never  hears.  It  is  natural  that 
the  evil  attracts  the  most  attention.  Men  and 
women  whose  married  life  is  full  of  good  and  help- 
fulness do  not  often  feel  an  impulse  to  defend  the 
system  under  which  they  live.  Sometimes  we  hear 


426  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

both  sexes  repine  at  their  change,  relate  the  happi- 
ness of  their  earlier  years,  blame  the  folly  and  rash- 
ness of  their  own  choice,  and  warn  others  against 
the  infatuation.  But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the 
days  which  they  so  much  wish  to  call  back  are  the 
days  not  only  of  celibacy,  but  of  youth — the  days  of 
novelty  and  of  improvement,  of  ardor  and  of  hope, 
of  health  and  vigor  of  body,  of  gayety  and  lightness 
of  heart.  It  is  not  easy  to  surround  life  with  any 
circumstances  in  which  youth  will  not  be  delightful ; 
and  we  are  afraid  that,  whether  married  or  single, 
we  shall  find  the  vesture  of  terrestrial  existence  more 
heavy  and  cumbersome  the  longer  it  is  worn. 

It  is  human  to  see  only  the  good  side  of  any  thing 
that  is  past  and  gone.  Life  is  so  full  of  disappoint- 
ments that  whenever  in  mature  years  we  recall  past 
days,  our  present  state,  being  present  reality,  always 
suffers  by  comparison  with  the  past.  It  would  be 
well  to  calmly  reflect  on  what  happiness  in  married 
life  depends.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  mischief 
wrought  in  the  world  by  the  common  understanding 
of  the  phrase  "  mismated."  Many  apparently  act  as 
if  all  the  ills  of  married  life  could  be  explained  by  a 
convenient  use  of  that  word. 

It  is  arrogant  folly  to  suppose  that  so  much  mis- 
ery and  wrong,  so  much  selfishness  and  cruelty,  so 
much  that  is  low,  animal,  and  unlovely  in  the  lives 
of  men  and  women,  results  from  their  being  "  mis- 
mated."  They  have,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  mis- 
taken the  cause  of  their  trouble.  These  men  and  wo- 
men are  undeveloped,  exacting,  selfish,  proud.  They 


MARRIED  LIFE.  427 

have  undisciplined  tempers,  and  they  are  accustomed 
to  think  of  happiness  for  themselves  as  the  chief  end 
of  marriage.  No  magic  of  "mating"  would  make 
the  lives  of  such  people  very  high  or  perfect. 

Nowhere  does  it  prove  so  powerfully  true  as  in 
married  life,  that  your  happiness  is  found  in  consult- 
ing the  happiness  of  another.  We  are  too  prone  to 
trust  to  specific  treatment  for  particular  evils.  The 
real  problem  of  happiness  in  married  life  is  not  diffi- 
cult of  solution  if  only  sought  with  a  spirit  of  will- 
ingness to  learn  the  truths.  There  are  no  short  roads 
to  happiness.  The  men  and  women  who  marry  must 
somehow  acquire  thoughtfulness,  self-control,  consid- 
eration for  others,  patience,  and  the  other  qualities, 
without  which  life  is  unendurable  in  any  relations  we 
know  of.  All  candid  persons  will  so  readily  admit 
this,  that  marriage  speedily  becomes  a  school  for  the 
exercise  of  virtue,  and  is  the  source  and  nurse  of 
many  of  the  best  qualities  in  the  life  of  man  or 
woman. 

It  is  indeed  wonderful  that  marriage  does  so 
much  for  them,  and  has  such  power  to  lift  up  their 
lives  to  light  and  beauty.  The  man  who  remains 
single  to  the  end  of  his  days  can  not  well  help  grow- 
ing cynical,  cold,  and  selfish.  By  nature  he  may  be 
as  warm-hearted,  as  full  of  generous  impulses,  as  any, 
but  he  has  only  himself  to  care  for.  He  has  never 
felt  the  necessity  of  striving  to  make  happy  the  life 
of  another.  He  has  never  known  what  it  is  to  have 
a  woman's  heart,  full  of  womanly  tenderness  and 
strength,  affection,  sympathy,  and  encouragement, 


428  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

looking  to  him  for  love  and  happiness,  for  protection 
and  comfort ;  has  never  learned  the  lesson  of  patience 
as  it  is  learned  in  bearing  with  the  faults  of  a  loved 
one.  He  has  never  known  what  it  is  to  have  a  little 
child  turn -to  him  as  the  source  of  consolation  for  its 
childish  troubles  and  sorrows.  It  can  not  but  follow 
that,  lacking  all  the  bitter-sweet  experience  of  mar- 
ried life,  he  shall  in  that  degree  fail  of  being  a  com- 
plete man. 

True,  there  are  natures  that,  whether  married  or 
single,  would  only  develop  into  the  cold,  hard-hearted 
disposition  ;  but  that  does  not  at  all  detract  from  the 
fact  that  marriage  does  thus  tend  to  make  life  more 
replete  with  kindness  and  manly  attributes  than 
celibacy.  Every  man  feels  the  need  of  a  home,  and 
there  is  no  more  sorrowful  sight  than  to  see  a  man 
bent  with  the  weight  of  years,  who  is  homeless  and 
has  no  friends  united  to  him  by  family  ties.  There 
can  not  be  a  home  without  the  institution  of  mar- 
riage. Think  for  a  moment  how  much  of  the  joy 
and  sorrow  of  life  is  connected  with  the  word  home. 
What  visions  of  hopes,  what  days  of  joy,  what  sea- 
sons of  sorrow,  does  it  not  recall  ?  All  the  lights  and 
shades  of  life  originate  from  thence.  How,  then,  can 
a  man  or  woman  lacking  the  experience  of  home  and 
married  life  possess  the  strength  of  character,  the 
full  and  complete  development,  expected  from  those 
who  have  taken  upon  themselves  the  joys  and  sor- 
rows, the  cross  and  crown  of  matrimony  ? 


DUTIES  OF  MARRIED  L1FK  429 


Og  jef£&gCE{& 

sAPPINESS  in  life  is  of  such  momentous  im- 
portance that  it  becomes  all  to  study  well  the 
conditions  of  happiness,  and  to  none  does  this 
truth  apply  itself  with  greater  force  than  to 
those  who  have  taken  upon  themselves  the  duties  of 
matrimony.  It  is  vain  and  useless  now  to  ponder 
the  wisdom  and  propriety  of  the  choice.  The  step 
has  been  taken,  and  it  only  remains  now  to  take  up 
the  duties  thus  voluntarily  assumed,  and,  in  the  due 
performance  of  the  same,  do  what  is  in  their  power 
to  gather  the  happiness  with  which  God,  in  his  good- 
ness, has  invested  the  marriage  relation. 

Husbands  and  wives  should  learn  to  live  happily 
together,  for  the  lesson  can  be  learned.  By  living 
happily  together  we  do  not  understand  a  calm,  pas- 
sive existence,  unbroken  by  a  single  dissenting  word 
or  look,  because  persons  are  incapacitated  for  happi- 
ness who  can  adapt  themselves  to  such  an  impotent 
existence.  Occasional  differences  of  opinion  indicate 
mutual  vitality,  and,  when  backed  by  common  sense 
and  self-control,  are  no  drawbacks  to  a  peaceful  life. 
But  in  all  vital  points  of  mutual  interest  husband 
and  wife  should  agree  perfectly,  understanding  that 
their  interests  are  mutual,  and  that  in  every  sense  of 
the  word  they  are  one. 

Life  is  real,  and  our  every-day  wants  and  desires 
remain  the  same  after  as  before  marriage.  All  the 
infirmities  of  our  nature  must  still  be  fought  against. 


430  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

The  marriage  ceremony  does  not  do  away  with  the 
necessity  of  self-control  ;  the  passions  still  have  to 
be  subdued,  and  a  careful  watch  maintained  against 
hasty  words  and  actions.  Many,  in  failing  to  recog- 
nize these  truths,  are  laying  the  foundation  for  future 
unhappiness.  It  is  so  easy  to  imagine  that  the  loved 
one  is  all  perfection,  and  when  the  soul  is  filled  with 
the  sweet  influence  of  love  it  is  so  easy  to  think  that 
this  is  sufficient  for  all  the  ills  of  life,  that  now  these 
two  "harps  of  a  thousand  strings"  will  henceforth 
always  be  attuned  to  each  other,  and  thus,  ignoring 
the  fact  that  human  nature  is  extremely  frail,  forget 
to  strengthen  it  by  thxi  exercise  of  reflection  and  judg- 
ment, fail  to  summon  to  their  aid  consideration  and  a 
disposition  to  bear  and  forbear,  suddenly  awaken  to 
the  fact  that  life  has  ever  its  trials,  and  that — 

"For  the  busiest  day  some  duty  waits." 

They  then  learn  that  happiness  comes  only  as  the 
result  of  persistent  following  in  the  paths  of  duty, 
that  no  ceremony  or  rite  can  change  their  nature, 
that  the  plain  rules  of  courtesy  and  kindness,  consid- 
eration and  respect,  are  as  necessary  now  as  in  the 
Spring-time  of  love. 

Love  on  both  sides  and  all  things  equal  in  out- 
ward circumstances  are  not  all  the  requisites  of  do- 
mestic felicity.  Young  people  seldom  court  in  their 
every-day  dress,  but  they  must  put  it  on  after  mar- 
riage. As  in  other  bargains  but  few  expose  defects. 
They  are  apt  to  marry  faultless.  Love  is  blind,  but 
faults  are  there  and  will  come  out.  The  fastidious 


DUTIES  OF  MARRIED  LIFE.  431 

attentions  of  wooing  are  like  Spring  flowers — they 
make  pretty  nosegays,  but  poor  greens.  The  beau- 
tiful romance  with  which  so  many  have  invested  the 
morning-time  of  wedded  life  is  apt  to  wear  off  under 
the  burden  and  heat  of  its  noon.  That  this  should  not 
be  so  all  will  admit ;  that  wedded  love,  like  the  river 
running  to  the  ocean,  should  grow  in  magnitude  as 
it  rolls  through  life  should,  no  doubt,  be  the  result 
of  all  well-lived  matrimonial  lives.  But,  from  the 
constitution  and  nature  of  man,  such,  unfortunately, 
is  not  always  the  case.  The  honeymoon,  at  times, 
gets  an  unexpected  dash  of  vinegar,  and  at  last  it 
disappears  altogether  in  the  prosaic  duties  of  home 
life.  This  is  the  trying  hour  of  married  life.  Be- 
tween the  parties  there  can  be  no  more  illusions. 
The  deceptions  of  courtship  are  no  longer  of  avail. 
Right  here  is  the  chance  to  make  or  mar  the 
happiness  of  life.  Why  not  look  the  matter  plainly 
in  the  face?  Why  not  recognize  the  fact  that  life  is 
not  romance  ?  It  is  a  real  thing,  and  altogether  too 
precious  to  be  thrown  away  in  secret  regrets  or  open 
indifference.  It  is  your  duty  now  to  begin  the  duty 
of  adaptation.  If  you  have  neglected  to  study  the 
conditions  of  happiness  heretofore  begin  at  once  to 
do  so.  If  you  have  been  derelict  in  duty  resolve  to 
do  your  share  now.  If  you  find  you  do  not  love 
each  other  as  you  thought  you  did  double  your  at- 
tentions to  each  other,  and  be  zealous  of  any  thing 
which  tends  in  the  slightest  way  to  separate  you. 
Acknowledge  your  faults  to  one  another,  and  de- 
termine that  henceforth  you  will  be  all  in  all  to 


432  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

each  other.  There  is  no  other  way  for  you  to  do. 
It  is  not  too  late  for  you  to  look  for  happiness.  You 
are  yet  young.  It  is  folly  to  expect  naught  but  dis- 
appointment the  rest  of  your  life. 

The  fault  is  in  human  nature,  and,  like  most 
faults,  has  a  remedy.  It  is  well  to  study  for  the 
remedy,  for  the  man  or  woman  who  has  settled  down 
on  the  conviction  that  he  or  she  is  attached  for  life 
to  an  uncongenial  mate,  and  that  there  is  no  way  of 
escape,  has  lost  life ;  there  is  no  effort  too  costly  to 
make  which  can  restore  the  missing  pearl  to  its 
setting  upon  the  bosom.  No  doubt  much  of  the  un- 
happiness  of  married  life  would  be  saved  if  only  the 
sober  views  of  life  and  duty  were  more  carefully  con- 
sidered before  marriage.  If  only  every  couple  would 
consider  that  over  against  every  joy  stands  a  duty, 
and  that  tears  and  smiles  alternate  with  each  other 
through  life,  they  would  save  themselves  much  disap- 
pointments. It  is  not  too  late,  however,  to  begin ; 
and  so,  if  this  truth  be  not  recognized  before  mar- 
riage, do  not  delay  an  instant  when  once  stern  facts 
have  withdrawn  the  pleasing  illusions  with  which  an 
untaught  fancy  invested  matrimony,  and  life,  with  its 
duties  as  well  as  its  pleasures,  appears  to  your  view. 

It  has  always  seemed  to  us  that  much  of  the  dan- 
ger of  home  life  springs  from  its  familiarity  ;  that  in 
the  intimate  relations  of  husband  and  wife  the  parties 
are  too  apt  to  forget  the  claims  of  courtesy  which  are 
constantly  pressing  upon  them.  While  there  should 
be  no  strictness  of  formal  etiquette  between  the  par- 
ties, it  is  none  the  less  true  that,  since  life  is  made  up 


DUTIES  OF  MARRIED  LIFE.  433 

of  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  much  of  the  pleasures 
of  life  depend  on  the  due  observance  of  the  same, 
that  a  spirit  of  courtesy  should  constantly  exist  be- 
tween husband  and  wife.  Before  marriage  each 
would  be  cautious  of  a  breach  of  manners,  and  would 
strive  to  demean  themselves  as  became  ladies  and 
gentlemen.  Are  not  the  claims  of  courtesy  just  as 
pressing  now  as  ever  ?  Has  the  marriage  ceremony 
given  you  any  right  to  be  less  than  polite  ?  And,  in 
a  still  higher  sense,  when  you  reflect  that  true  court- 
esy is  ever  accompanied  by  the  spirit  of  kindness  and 
a  dignity  of  carriage  the  more  pressing  are  its  claims. 
It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  station  in  life 
where  the  exercise  of  patience  is  not  imperatively  de- 
manded. All  life  is  effectually  teaching  and  empha- 
sizing this  lesson  of  patience.  But  marriage  affords 
a  field  where  too  great  an  importance  can  not  be 
attached  to  it.  Its  claims  are  fresh  every  morning 
and  new  every  evening,  and  it  were  difficult  to  con- 
ceive of  any  thing  which  had  more  to  do  with  home 
happiness  than  bearing  patiently  the  innumerable 
vexations  which  are  constantly  thrown  in  your  path. 
Every  coupled  pair  flatter  themselves  that  their  ex- 
perience will  be  better  and  more  excellent  than  thafr 
of  many  who  have  gone  before  them.  They  look 
with  amazement  at  the  coldness,  complainings,  and? 
dissatisfaction  which  spoil  the  comfort  of  so  many 
homes  as  at  things  which  can  not  by  any  possibility 
fall  to  their  happier  lot.  But  like  causes  produce 
like  effects,  and  to  avoid  the  misfortune  of  others 

we  must  avoid  their  mistakes. 
28 


434  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

The  acquaintance  of  courtship  is  a  very  one-sided 
affair,  both  parties  seeing  through  the  peculiar  atmos- 
phere which  magnifies  virtue,  changes  defects  into 
beauties,  and  makes  the  discovery  of  faults  impos- 
sible. The  discovery  will  certainly  come,  and  those 
who  had  thought  each  other  next  to  perfection  will 
soon  discover  that  some  few  imperfections  and  the 
common  weaknesses  of  humanity  remain.  Disap- 
pointment is  felt  where  there  is  no  just  reason  for  it. 
They  had  thought  they  were  perfectly  adapted  to  each 
other,  and  that  mutual  concessions  would  involve  no 
self-denial,  and  that  whatever  either  desired  the  other 
would  instantly  yield.  But  experience  teaches  that 
the  work  of  mutual  adaptation  is  precisely  what  they 
have  to  learn,  to  understand  each  other's  peculiarities 
and  tastes,  weaknesses  and  excellencies,  and  by  self- 
discipline  and  kindness  of  construction  on  both  sides 
to  receive  and  impart  a  modifying  influence,  bringing 
them  nearer  each  other  all  the  time,  until  through 
this  interchangeable  moral  and  spiritual  culture  the 
hopes  of  happiness  are  fully  realized. 

But  this  happy  result,  which  is  unquestionably 
the  highest  earth  affords,  depends  in  a  great  degree 
upon  the  manner  in  which  the  first  few  years  of  mar- 
ried life  are  spent,  and  the  success  with  which  its  first 
unavoidable  trials  are  met  and  overcome.  Some 
allow  themselves  to  lose  sight  of  the  great  truth  that 
happiness  is  surest  found  in  consulting  the  happiness 
of  others.  The  husband  should  have  as  his  great 
object  and  rule  of  conduct  the  happiness  of  his  wife. 
Of  that  happiness  the  confidence  in  his  affection  is 


DUTIES  OF  MARRIED  LIFE.  435 

the  cnief  element ;  and  the  proofs  of  this  affection  on 
his  part,  therefore,  constitute  his  chief  duty.  An 
affection  that  shows  itself  not  in  caresses  alone,  as  if 
these  were  the  only  demonstration  of  love,  but  of 
that  respect  which  distinguishes  love  as  a  principle, 
from  that  brief  passion  which  assumes,  and  only  as- 
sumes, the  name— a  respect  which  consults  the  judg- 
ment as  well  as  the  wishes  of  the  object  beloved, 
which  considers  her  who  is  worthy  of  being  taken  to 
the  heart  as  worthy  of  being  admitted  to  all  the 
counsels  of  the  head. 

Do  not  forget  that  your  happiness  both  here  and 
hereafter  depends  upon  each  other's  influence.  An 
unkind  word  or  look,  or  an  unintentional  neglect 
sometimes  lead  to  thoughts  which  ripen  into  the  ruin 
of  body  and  soul.  A  spirit  of  forbearance,  patience, 
and  kindness,  and  a  determination  to  keep  the  chain 
of  love  bright,  are  likely  to  develop  corresponding 
qualities,  and  to  make  the  rough  places  of  life  smooth 
and  pleasant.  Have  you  seriously  reflected  that  it  is 
in  the  power  of  either  of  you  to  make  the  other  ut- 
terly miserable  ?  And  when  the  storms  and  trials 
of  life  come,  for  come  they  will,  how  much  either  of 
you  can  do  to  calm,  to  elevate,  to  purify  the  troubled 
spirit  of  the  other,  and  change  clouds  for  sunshine ! 

It  is  emphatically  the  duty  of  all  who  have  entered 
into  marriage  to  strive  to  forget  self,  and  in  further- 
ing the  happiness  of  the  other  to  advance  their  own ; 
ever  remembering  that,  even  though  attended  with  the 
fairest  of  outward  prospects,  infirmity  is  inseparably 
bound  up  with  your  very  nature,  and  that  in  bearing 


436  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

one  another's  burdens  you  are  fulfilling  one  of  the 
highest  duties  of  the  union.  Love  in  marriage  can  not 
subsist  unless  it  be  mutual;  and  where  love  can  not 
be  there  can  be  left  of  wedlock  nothing  but  the  empty 
husk  of  an  outside  matrimony,  as  undelightful  and  a?? 
unpleasing  to  God  as  any  other  kind  of  hypocrisy. 


»E  celebrate  the  wedding  and  make  merry  over 
the  honeymoon.  The  poet  paints  the  beauties 
and  blushes  of  the  blooming  bride  ;  and  the 
bark  of  matrimony,  with  its  freight  of  untested 
love,  is  launched  on  the  sea  of  experiment,  amid  kind 
wishes  and  rejoicing.  But  on  that  precarious  sea 
are  many  storms,  and  even  the  calm  has  its  perils ; 
and  only  when  the  bark  has  weathered  these,  and 
landed  its  cargo  in  the  haven  of  domestic  peace,  can 
we  pronounce  the  voyage  prosperous  and  congratu- 
late on  their  merited  and  enviable  reward. 

As  long  as  human  nature  is  what  it  is,  we  must 
expect  that  life  of  any  kind  will  abound  in  trials. 
To  conceive  of  a  life  utterly  devoid  of  these  is  to 
conceive  of  a  vegetative  kind  of  existence.  Trials, 
then,  are  to  be  expected,  and  they  must  be  overcome. 
This  is  none  the  less  true  of  married  life.  Marriages 
may  be  celebrated  in  bowers  as  fair  as  those  of 
Eden,  but  they  must  be  proved  and  put  to  test  in  the 
workshops  of  the  world.  And  as  each  state  of  exist- 


TRIALS  OF  MARRIED  LIFE.  437 

ence  has  its  peculiar  trials  and  cares,  we  need  not  be 
disappointed  when  experience  teaches  that,  though 
marriage  hath  indeed  great  joys,  it  has  also  its  trials 
and  vexations. 

In  prosaic,  every-day  life  romantic  minds  are 
speedily  sobered  down,  and  the  gloss  of  pretension 
is  soon  worn  off.  Hands  that  have  heretofore  seen 
no  harder  work  than  to  entice  strains  of  music  from 
ivory  keys,  perhaps  find  themselves  engaged  in  the 
less  poetical,  but  equally  as  praiseworthy,  occupation 
of  mixing  bread,  or  in  the  performance  of  other  plain 
household  duties  which  require  to  be  dispatched,  not 
by  angels,  but  by  women.  And  the  possessor  of 
faultless  clothes  and  a  silken  mustache  finds  himself 
weighed  down  with  altogether  different  burdens  than 
those  of  holding  fans  and  carrying  parasols  ;  and  he 
is  called  upon  to  solve  other  questions  than  those 
relating  to  social  etiquette. 

Courtship  is  to  many  a  dreamy  resting-place  be- 
twixt the  joys  of  youth  and  the  cares  of  maturity. 
Under  the  light  of  hope  married  life  is  nearly  always 
a  land  of  rainbows  to  the  youth  ;  but,  as  to  'produce 
the  rainbow  it  requires  the  falling  rain  as  well  as  the 
shining  sun,  so,  when  the  nature  of  these  prospective 
joys  is  carefully  investigated,  it  will  not  surprise  one 
to  find  that  trials  and  duties  are  interposed  between 
their  present  stand-point  and  the  pure  happiness  of 
domestic  life. 

To  many  a  young  couple,  when  life's  realities 
come,  come  also  the  discovery  of  traits  of  character 
in  each  other  which  perfectly  astonish  them.  Every 


438  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

day  reveals  something  new  and  something  unpleasant. 
The  courtship  character  slowly  fades  away,  and,  with 
sorrow  be  it  said,  too  often  the  courtship  love  as  well. 
Now  comes  disappointment,  sorrow,  regret.  They 
find  that  their  characters  are  entirely  dissimilar ;  they 
also  awake  to  the  fact  that  married  life  is  full  of  cares, 
vexations,  and  disappointments.  This,  indeed,  should 
have  been  expected ;  but  it  is  human  to  see  naught 
but  joys  in  the  future,  especially  from  the  stand-point 
of  youth.  This  discovery  often  shipwrecks  the  hap- 
piness of  the  unfortunate  couple. 

We  have  all  seen  the  trees  die  in  Summer-time. 
But  the  tree,  with  its  whispering  leaves  and  swaying 
limbs,  its  greenness,  its  umbrage,  where  the  shadows 
He  hidden  all  the  day,  does  not  die  all  at  once.  First 
a  dimness  creeps  over  its  brightness  ;  next  a  leaf 
sickens  here  and  there,  and  fades  ;  next  a  whole 
bough  feels  the  palsying  touch  of  coming  death ;  and 
finally  the  feeble  signs  of  sickly  life,  visible  here  and 
there,  all  disappear,  and  the  dead  trunk  holds  out  its 
stripped,  stark  limbs,  a  melancholy  ruin.  Just  so 
does  wedded  love  sometimes  die.  Wedded  love, 
blessed  with  the  prayers  of  friends,  hallowed  by  the 
sanction  of  God,  rosy  with  present  joys,  and  radiant 
with  future  hopes,  it  dies  not  all  at  once.  A  hasty 
word  casts  a  shadow  upon  it,  and  the  shadow  deepens 
with  the  sharp  reply.  A  little  thoughtlessness  mis- 
construed, a  little  unintentional  negligence,  deemed 
real,  a  little  word  misinterpreted, —  through  such 
small  channels  do  dissension  and  sorrow  enter  the 
family  circle.  Love  becomes  reticent,  confidence  is 


TRIALS  OF  MARRIED  LIFE.  439 

chilled,  and  noiselessly  but  surely  the  work  of  sepa- 
ration goes  on,  until  the  two  are  left  as  isolated  as 
the  pyramids,  nothing  remaining  of  the  union  but 
the  legal  form — the  dead  trunk  of  the  tree,  whose 

o 

branches  once  waved  in  the  sunlight.  Is  it  not  a 
melancholy  reflection  on  human  nature  that  petty 
trials  and  difficulties,  from  which  no  life  is  free, 
should  have  wrought  such  a  startling  effect  ? 

The  great  secret  is  to  learn  to  bear  with  each  oth- 
er's failings  ;  not  to  be  blind  to  them — that  were  either 
an  impossibility  or  a  folly.  We  must  see  and  feel 
them ;  if  we  do  neither,  they  are  not  evils  to  us,  and 
there  is  obviously  no  need  of  forbearance.  We  are 
to  throw  the  mantle  of  charity  around  them,  conceal- 
ing them  from  the  curious  gaze  of  others ;  to  deter- 
mine not  to  let  them  chill  the  affections.  Surely 
it  is  not  the  perfections,  but  the  imperfections,  of 
human  character  that  make  the  strongest  claims  on 
.our  love. 

All  the  world  must  approve  and  even  enemies  must 
admire  the  good  and  the  estimable  in  human  nature. 
If  husband  and  wife  estimate  only  that  in  each  which 
all  must  be  constrained  to  value,  what  do  they  more 
than  others  ?  It  is  the  infirmities  of  character,  im- 
perfections of  nature,  that  call  for  pitying  sympathy, 
the  tender  compassion  that  makes  each  the  comforter, 
the  monitor  of  the  other.  Forbearance  helps  each 
to  attain  command  over  themselves.  This  forbear- 
ance is  not  a  weak  and  wicked  indulgence  of  each 
other's  faults,  but  such  a  calm,  tender  observation  of 
them  as  excludes  all  harshness  and  anger,  and  takes 


440  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

the  best  and  fullest  method  of  pointing  them  out  in 
the  full  confidence  of  affection. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  trials  and  sufferings 
are  the  real  test  of  merit  in  all  life,  as  they  bring  out 
the  real  character.  In  married  life  husband  and  wife 
are  often  adapted  to  each  other  through  trials,  and 
the  closest  union  is  often  wrought  by  suffering,  even 
as  iron  is  welded  by  heat.  As  much  of  the  happi- 
ness of  real  life  is  artificial,  so  many  things  in  wedded 
life  that  to  third  persons  must  seem  as  trials  are, 
after  all,  only  the  sweetness  of  domestic  life.  How 
many  couples,  now  in  mature  life  and  surrounded  by 
luxury  and  all  the  comforts  of  wealth,  look  back  to 
the  days  of  early  privation  as  amongst  the  happiest 
days  of  their  life!  Succeeding  years  have  brought 
them  wealth,  but  it  took  with  them  their  domestic 
happiness. 

Marriage  is  too  frequently  the  end  instead  of  the 
beginning  of  love.  The  dreams  of  courtship  vanish 
too  often  into  thin  air  soon  after  the  wedding  ring  is 
put  on.  The  realization  of  that  perfect  and  unalloyed 
happiness  that  each  partner  anticipated  is  seldom 
found  in  the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony.  Cool  and 
distant,  with  a  feeling  that  the  sweet  courtesies  of 
wooing-time  are  now  out  of  place,  they  treat  each 
other  with  an  indifference  that  ends  in  mutual  aver- 
sion and  contempt.  This  is  altogether  wrong.  As 
reasoning  men  and  women  they  have  entered  the 
relation  ;  it  is  vain  to  suppose  it  is  one  of  unmixed 
delights.  It  has  its  trials.  You  must  expect  to 
meet  them.  The  conditions  of  happiness  there  ar^ 


TRIALS  OF  MARRIED  LIFE.  441 

much  the  same  as  elsewhere,  therefore  the  only  sure 
way  of  finding  it  is  to  forget  self  in  the  furtherance 
of  the  happiness  of  others.  The  trials  of  wedded  life 
are  seen  to  be  but  the  approaches  to  its  joys  when 
once  the  spirit  of  kindly  forbearance  is  spread  abroad 
in  the  heart. 

It  must  seem  to  all  who  seriously  meditate  on 
this  subject  that  many  of  the  trials  of  married  life 
arise  from  mistaken  notions  of  economy  and  the  right 
use  of  money.  Every  wife  knows  her  husband's  in- 
come or  ought  to  know  it.  That  knowledge  should 
be  the  guide  of  her  conduct.  A  clear  understanding 
respecting  the  domestic  expenses  is  necessary  to 
the  peace  of  every  dwelling.  If  it  be  little,  "better 
is  a  dinner  of  herbs  where  love  is,  than  a  stalled  ox 
and  hatred  therewith."  If  it  be  ample,  let  it  be  en- 
joyed with  all  thankfulness.  Partners  in  privation 
are  more  to  each  other  than  partners  in  wealth. 
Those  who  have  suffered  together  love  more  than 
those  who  have  rejoiced  together.  Where  a  wife, 
seeing  her  duty,  has  made  up  her  mind  to  this,  she 
will  brighten  her  little  home  with  smiles  that  will 
make  it  a  region  of  perpetual  sunshine. 

We  account  these  two  things  essential  to  the  hap- 
piness of  married  life, — to  have  a  home  of  your  own, 
and  to  live  distinctly  and  honestly  within  your  means. 
A  great  proportion  of  the  failures  in  wedlock  may  be 
traced  directly  to  the  neglect  of  the  latter  rule.  No 
man  can  feel  happy  or  enjoy  the  sweets  of  domestic 
life  who  is  spending  more  than  he  earns.  No  sensi- 
ble person  will  account  it  a  hardship  to  begin  on  a 


442  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

moderate  scale ;  and  those  who  do  thus  begin,  and 
afterwards  attain  to  the  possession  of  wealth,  always 
look  back  to  the  days  of  "small  things"  with  pe- 
culiar satisfaction  as  the  golden  days  of  their  hearts, 
if  not  of  their  purses.  True  affection  delights  in  the 
opportunities  of  self-denial  and  in  the  little  acts  of 
personal  service,  for  which  there  is  scarcely  any 
place  in  the  house  of  the  rich. 

At  the  shrine  of  domestic  ambition  much  of  the 
comfort  and  happiness  of  home  life  is  immolated,  and, 
for  the  sake  of  appearance,  happiness  and  content 
are  exchanged  for  wearying  cares.  To  regulate  our 
expenses  by  other  people's  income  is  the  height  of 
folly,  and  to  contract  debts  for  a  style  of  living 
which  is  of  our  neighbor's  choosing  rather  than  our 
own  is  nearly  akin  to  insanity.  There  is  no  happi- 
ness, social,  domestic,  or  individual,  without  inde- 
pendence ;  and  no  dependence  is  so  bitter  as  that  of 
debt.  And  when  you  reflect  how  needless  this  is, 
you  can  readily  see  that  in  this  instance,  as  in  many 
others,  the  trials  are  of  our  own  choosing,  and  might 
be  avoided  by  consideration  and  care. 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  443 


"O  let  us  walk  the  world,  so  that  our  love 
Burns  like  a  blessed  beacon,  beautiful, 
Upon  the  walls  of  life's  surrounding  dark." 

— MASSEY. 

iHE  true  marriage  is  the  result  of  years  of  mu- 
f  tual  endeavor  to  please,  and  comes  of  patient 
efforts  to  learn  each  other's  disposition  and 
taste.  This  can  be  done  by  all  who  cherish 
right  views  of  the  duties  and  pleasures  of  the  mar- 
riage relation. 

You  have  but  one  life  to  live,  and  no  amount  of 
money  or  influence  or  fame  can  pay  you  for  a  life 
of  unhappiness.  You  can  not  afford  to  quarrel  with 
one  another.  You  can  not  afford  to  cherish  a  single 
thought,  to  harbor  a  single  desire,  to  gratify  a  single 
passion,  nor  indulge  a  single  selfish  feeling,  that  will 
tend  to  make  this  union  any  thing  but  a  source  of 
happiness  to  you.  So  it  becomes  you  at  starting  to 
have  a  perfect  understanding  with  one  another.  It 
becomes  you  to  resolve  that  you  will  be  happy  to- 
gether at  any  rate,  or  that  if  you  suffer  it  shall  be 
from  the  same  cause  and  in  perfect  sympathy.  You 
are  not  to  let  any  human  being  step  between  you 
under  any  circumstances. 

Human  character,  by  a  wise  provision  of  Provi- 
dence, is  infinitely  varied,  and  there  are  not  two  in- 
dividuals in  existence  so  entirely  alike  in  their  tastes, 
habits  of  thought,  and  natural  aptitude  that  they  can 
keep  step  with  one  another  over  all  the  rough  places 


444  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

in  the  journey  of  life.  There  must  be  a  leaning  to 
one  another.  The  compromise  can  not  be  all  on  one 
side.  You  can  be  happy  together  if  you  will,  but 
the  agreement  to  be  happy  must  be  mutual.  Draw 
your  souls  closer  and  closer  together  from  year  tc 
year.  Get  all  obstacles  out  of  the  way.  Just  as 
soon  as  one  arises  attend  to  it,  and  get  rid  of  it. 
At  last  they  will  all  disappear.  You  will  have  be- 
come wonted  to  one  another's  habits  and  frames  of 
mind  and  peculiarities  of  disposition,  and  love,  re- 
spect, and  charity  will  take  care  of  the  rest. 

If  you  observe  faults  in  your  companion  keep  them 
to  yourself.  What  right  have  you,  who  should  be  the 
very  one  to  kindly  conceal  faults,  to  inform  others  of 
their  presence?  Neither  father  nor  mother,  neither 
brother  nor  sister,  have  any  right  to  be  informed  of 
the  secrets  of  your  domestic  life.  A  husband  and 
wife  have  no  business  to  tell  one  another's  faults  to 
any  body  but  themselves.  They  can  not  do  it  with- 
out shame.  Their  grievances  are  to  be  settled  in 
private  between  themselves,  and  in  all  public  places 
and  among  friends  they  are  to  preserve  towards  one 
another  that  nice  consideration  and  entire  respectful- 
ness which  their  relations  enjoin.  With  a  true  wife 
the  husband's  faults  should  be  secret.  A  wife  for- 
gets when  she  condescends  to  that  refuge  of  weak- 
ness, a  female  confidant.  A  wife's  bosom  should  be 
the  tomb  of  her  husband's  failings,  and  his  character 
far  more  valuable  in  her  estimation  than  life. 

Happiness  between  husband  and  wife  can  only  be 
secured  by  that  constant  tenderness  and  care  of  the 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  445 

parties  for  each  other  which  are  based  upon  warm 
and  demonstrative  love.  The  heart  demands  that 
the  man  shall  not  sit  silent,  reticent,  and  self-ab- 
sorbed in  the  midst  of  his  family.  The  wife  who 
forgets  to  provide  for  her  husband's  tastes  and  wishes 
renders  her  home  undesirable  for  him.  In  a  word, 
ever-present  and  ever-demonstrative  gentleness  must 
reign,  or  else  the  heart  starves. 

There  is  propriety  in  all  things,  and  though  pub- 
lic displays  of  affection,  familiarity  of  touch,  and 
half- concealed  caresses  are  always  distasteful  to  men 
and  women  of  sense,  yet  love  is  of  such  a  nature 
that  you  must  give  it  expression  or  it  languishes. 
There  are  husbands  so  cold  and  formal  that  they 
have  no  kiss  or  caress  for  the  wives  whom  they 
really  love.  There  are  wives  to  whom  a  single  dem- 
onstration that  shall  tell  to  their  hearts  how  inex- 
pressibly pleasant  their  faces  and  their  society  are, 
and  how  fondly  they  are  loved,  would  be  better  than 
untold  gold. 

The  affection  that  should  link  together  man  and 
wife  is  a  far  holier  and  more  enduring  passion  than 
the  enthusiasm  of  young  love.  It  may  want  its  gor- 
geousness  or  its  imaginative  character,  but  it  is  far 
richer  in  its  attributes.  It  should  not  call  for  such 
daily  proofs  of  existence  as  is  demanded  of  the  lover, 
but  it  is  human  to  wish  for  the  freshness  of  morning 
to  continue  far  into  the  day  and  evening.  True,  it 
is  vain  to  expect  this,  but  humanity  continually  wishes 
for  what  can  not  be ;  and,  though  the  glow  and 

&  o 

sparkle  of  the  morning  of  love  will  fade  away,  yet  it 


446  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

should  be  as  fades  the  bewitching  charm  of  morning 
into  the  quiet  splendor  of  the  Summer  day;  and, 
though  recognizing  that  exhibitions  of  tenderness  so 
appropriate  for  the  morning  bf  life  are  out  of  place 
in  its  noon,  yet,  as  long  as  it  is  human  to  love,  so 
long  are  exhibitions  of  it,  quiet  though  they  may  be, 
gratifying  to  the  one  beloved. 

We  exhort  you  who  are  a  husband  to  love  your 
wife  even  as  you  love  yourself.  Continue  through 
life  the  same  manly  tenderness  that  in  youth  gained 
her  affections.  Reflect  that  though  her  bodily  charms 
may  not  now  be  so  great  as  then,  yet  that  habit  and 
a  thousand  acts  of  kindness  have  strengthened  your 
mutual  friendship.  Devote  yourself  to  her,  and  after 
the  hours  of  business  let  the  pleasures  which  you 
most  highly  prize  be  found  in  her  society.  The  true 
wife  wishes  to  feel  sure  that  she  is  precious  to  her 
husband  —  not  useful,  not  valuable,  not  convenient 
simply,  but  that  she  is  dear  to  him;  let  her  be  the 
recipient  of  his  polite  and  hearty  attentions ;  let  her 
notice  that  her  cares  and  loves  are  noticed,  appre- 
ciated, and  returned,  her  opinions  asked,  her  approval 
sought,  and  her  judgment  respected ;  in  short,  let  her 
only  be  loved,  honored,  and  cherished  in  fulfillment 
of  the  marriage  vow,  and  she  will  be  to  her  husband 
a  well-spring  of  pleasure. 

We  exhort  you  who  are  wife  to  be  gentle  and  con- 
siderate to  your  husband.  Let  the  influence  which 
you  possess  over  him  arise  from  the  mildness  of  yonr 
manner  and  the  discretion  of  your  conduct.  Whilst 
you  are  careful  to  adorn  your  person  with  new  and 


HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  447 

clean  apparel — for  no  woman  can  long  preserve  af- 
fections if  she  is  negligent  on  this  point — be  still 
more  attentive  in  ornamenting  your  mind  with  meek- 
ness and  peace,  with  cheerfulness  and  good  humor. 
Lighten  the  cares  and  chase  away  the  vexations  to 
which  he  is  inevitably  exposed  in  his  commerce  with 
the  world  by  rendering,  as  far  as  is  in  your  power, 
his  home  pleasant.  Keep  at  home.  Let  your  em- 
ployment and  pleasures  be  domestic. 

What  a  man  desires  in  a  wife  is  her  companion- 
ship, sympathy,  and  love.  The  way  of  life  has  many 
dreary  places  in  it,  and  man  needs  a  companion  to 
go  with  him.  A  man  is  sometimes  overtaken  by 
misfortune ;  he  meets  with  failure  and  defeat,  trials 
and  temptation  beset  him,  and  he  needs  one  to  stand 
by  and  sympathize.  All  through  life,  through  storms 
and  through  sunshine,  conflicts  and  victory,  man 
needs  a  woman's  love.  Let  him  think  upon  his  duty 
in  return  for  this  love.  You  who  have  taken  a  wife 
from  a  happy  home  of  kindred  hearts  and  kind  com- 
panionship, have  you  done  what  you  could  to  make 
amends  for  the  loss  of  those  friends  and  companions  ? 
Remember  what  your  wife  was  when  you  took  her, 
not  from  compulsion,  but  from  your  own  choice — a 
choice  based  on  what  you  then  considered  her  supe- 
riority to  all  others.  She  was  young — perhaps  the 
idol  of  her  happy  home;  she  was  as  gay  and  blithe 
as  the  lark,  and  the  brothers  and  sisters  at  her 
father's  cherished  her  as  an  object  of  endearment. 
Yet  she  left  all  to  join  her  destiny  with  yours — to 
make  your  home  happy,  and  to  do  all  that  womanly 


448  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ingenuity  could  do  to  meet  your  wishes,  and  to 
lighten  the  burdens  which  might  press  upon  you. 
Consult  the  tastes  and  disposition  of  your  hus- 
band, and  endeavor  to  give  him  high  and  noble 
thoughts,  lofty  aims,  and  temporal  comforts.  Let 
the  husband  see  that  you  really  have  a  strong  desire 
to  make  him  happy,  and  to  retain  the  warmest  place 
in  his  respect,  his  admiration,  and  his  affection.  En- 
ter into  all  his  plans  with  interest.  Sweeten  all  his 
troubles  with  your  sympathy.  Make  him  feel  that 
there  is  one  ear  always  open  to  the  revelation  of  his 
experiences,  that  there  is  one  heart  that  never  mis- 
construes him,  that  there  is  one  refuge  for  him  in  all 
circumstances,  and  that  in  all  weariness  of  body  and 
soul  there  is  one  warm  pillow  for  his  head,  beneath 
which  a  heart  is  beating  with  the  same  unvarying 
truth  and  affection,  through  all  gladness  and  sadness, 
as  the  faithful  chronometer  suffers  no  perturbation  of 
its  rhythm,  whether  in  storm  or  shine. 


JEALOUSY.  449 


"  Trifles  light  as  air, 
Are  to  the  jealous  confirmation  strong 

As  proofs  of  holy  writ." 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 

jHERE  is  no  passion  more  base,  nor  one  which 
seeks  to  hide  itself  more  than  jealousy.  It  is 
ashamed  of  it  itself  when  it  appears.  It  carries 
its  stain  and  disgrace  on  its  forehead.  We  do 
not  wish  to  acknowledge  it  ourselves,  it  is  so  igno- 
minious, but  hidden  in  the  character  we  would  be 
confused  and  disconcerted  if  it  appeared ;  by  the 
which  we  are  convinced  of  our  bad  minds  and  i  *- 
based  courage. 

It  is  difficult  sometimes  to  distinguish  between 
jealousy  and  envy,  for  they  often  run  into  one  an- 
other, and  are  blended  together.  The  most  valid 
distinction  seems  to  be  that  jealousy  is  always  per- 
sonal. The  envious  man  desires  some  good  which 
another  possesses  ;  the  jealous  man  suspects  another 
of  seeking  to  deprive  him  of  some  good  that  he 
already  possesses. 

Jealousy  is,  in  many  respects,  preferable  to  envy, 
since  it  aims  at  the  preservation  of  some  good  which 
we  think  belongs  to  us ;  whereas  envy  is  a  frenzy 
that  can  not  endure,  even  in  idea,  the  good  of  others. 
Jealousy  is  such  a  headstrong  passion,  that  therein 
doth  consist  its  danger.  All  the  other  passions  con- 
descend at  times  to  accept  the  inexorable  logic  of 
29 


450  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

facts.  But  jealousy  looks  facts  straight  in  the  face, 
ignores  them  utterly,  and  says  she  knows  a  great 
deal  better  than  they  can  tell  her. 

Jealousy  violates  contracts,  dissolves  society, 
breaks  wedlock,  betrays  friends  and  neighbors,  thinks 
nobody  is  good,  and  that  every  one  is  either  doing 
or  designing  them  an  injury.  Its  rise  is  in  guilt  or 
ill-nature  ;  as  he  that  is  overrun  with  the  jaundice 
takes  others  to  be  yellow.  If  jealousy  were  not  a 
hardened  offender,  he  must  have  disappeared  ere 
this  by  the  abuse  which  poets  and  moralists  have 
alike  delighted  to  heap  upon  him.  Yet  he  still  lives 
and  flourishes,  exerts  his  influence  and  displays  his 
power,  as  though  he  were  a  favored  friend  or  a  wel- 
c  me  guest. 

Did  jealousy  always  make  its  appearance  in  its 
ordinary  form  of  detraction,  it  would  be,  compar- 
atively speaking,  harmless  ;  but  it  is  surprising  how 
many  different  masks  it  can  assume,  and  how  it  lurks 
and  tries  to  conceal  itself  under  some  less  mean  and 
unlovable  quality.  Sometimes  it  appears  in  the 
character  of  injustice  ;  sometimes  it  takes  the  form 
of  rudeness  and  want  of  courtesy ;  occasionally  a  bit- 
ter or  sarcastic  way  of  speaking.  At  other  times  it 
borrows  the  garb  of  a  virtue,  and  shows  itself  under 
what  might  be  mistaken  for  humility  or  sincerity; 
lying  coiled  up  like  a  serpent  under  some  flower, 
and  darting  forth  its  venemous  sting  where  and  when 
you  least  expect  to  find  it. 

No  stronger  proof  is  needed  to  show  how  con- 
temptible a  fault  jealousy  is  than  that  no  one  is  will- 


JEALOUSY.  451 

ing  to  acknowledge  that  they  are  jealous.  It  is  jeal- 
ousy that  is  the  root  and  foundation  of  many  offenses, 
out  they  are  charged  to  other  causes.  Jealousy  is 
singular  in  this :  every  trifling  circumstance  is  re- 
garded as  confirming  and  strengthening  the  pre- 
viously aroused  suspicions.  It  is  a  sorer  curse,  a 
more  certain  and  fatal  blight  to  the  heart  on  which 
it  seizes,  than  it  can  be  to  those  against  whom  its 
spite  is  hurled.  Jealousy  is  as  cruel  as  the  grave; 
not  the  grave  that  opens  its  deep  bosom  to  receive 
and  shelter  from  further  storms  the  worn  and  forlorn 
pilgrim,  who  rejoices  exceedingly  and  is  glad  when 
he  can  find  its  repose  ;  but  cruel  as  the  grave  is 
when  it  yawns  and  swallows  down  from  the  lap  of 
luxury,  from  the  summit  of  fame,  from  the  bosom  of 
love,  the  desire  of  many  eyes  and  hearts. 

Among  the  deadly  things  upon  the  earth,  or  in 
the  sea,  or  flying  through  malarial  regions,  few  are 
more  noxious  than  jealousy.  And  of  all  mad  pas- 
sions there  is  not  one  that  has  a  vision  more  dis- 
torted or  a  more  unreasonable  fury.  To  the  jealous 
eye  white  looks  black,  yellow  looks  green,  and  the 
very  sunshine  turns  deadly  lurid.  There  is  no  inno- 
cence, no  justice,  no  generosity  that  is  not  touched 
with  suspicions  save  just  the  jealous  person's  own. 
Once  lodged  within  the  heart,  for  life  it  rules  ascend- 
ant and  alone.  It  sports  in  solitude.  It  pants  for 
blood,  and  rivers  will  not  sate  its  thirst.  Minds 
strongest  in  worth  and  valor  stoop  to  meanness  and 
disgrace  before  it.  The  meanest  soul,  the  weakest, 
it  can  give  courage  to  beyond  the  daring  of  despair. 


452  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

No  balm  can  assuage  its  sting.  Death  alone  can 
heal  its  wound.  When  it  has  once  possessed  a  man 
he  has  no  ear  but  for  the  tale  that  falls  like  molten 
lead  upon  the  heart. 

In  nothing  is  jealousy  more  commonly  shown 
than  when  under  the  fear  that  some  one  will  sup 
plant  us  in  the  affections  of  another.  Here  it  assumes 
its  most  malignant  form,  here  its  greatest  distress  is 
wrought.  The  gamester,  whose  last  piece  is  lost ; 
the  merchant,  whose  whole  risk  the  sea  has  swal- 
lowed up ;  the  child,  whose  air  bubble  has  burst — 
may  each  create  a  bauble  like  the  former.  But  he 
whose  treasure  was  in  woman's  love,  who  trusted  as 
man  once  trusts  and  was  deceived — that  hope  once 
gone,  there  is  no  finding  it  again,  no  restoring  it. 
Let  not  any  too  rigorously  judge  the  conduct  of  a 
jealous  woman  or  a  jealous  man.  Remember  that 
the  maniac  suffers.  To  be  sure,  the  suffering  is 
from  selfishness,  often  it  is  without  the  shadow  of  a 
cause ;  but  still  it  is  suffering,  and  it  is  intense. 
Pity  it,  bear  with  it ;  you  may  yourself  fall  into 
temptation. 

It  is  said  that  jealousy  is  love.  This  is  not  true ; 
for,  though  jealousy  may  be  procured  by  love,  as 
ashes  are  by  fire,  yet  jealousy  extinguishes  love,  as 
ashes  smother  the  flame.  Jealousy  may  exist  with- 
out love,  and  this  is  common,  for  jealousy  can  feed 
on  that  which  is  bitter  no  less  than  on  that  which  is 
sweet,  and  is  sustained  by  pride  as  often  as  by 
affection. 

The  unfortunate  habit  of  mind  which  makes  one 


JEALOUSY.  453 

prone  to  jealousy  can  not  be  too  strenuously  fought 
against.  It  were  well  to  constantly  remember  that 
jealousy  injures  and  pains  no  one  so  much  as  the 
person  feeling  it.  It  is  a  self- consuming  fire,  a  self- 
inflicted  torment,  an  arrow  that  falls  back  and  wounds 
only  the  archer.  It  becomes  one  to  cultivate  a  spirit 
of  magnanimity  toward  all,  and  to  strive  to  allay,  by 
every  means  in  his  power,  a  too  suspicious  nature. 
It  has  been  well  said  that  there  are  occasions  on 
which  a  man  would  have  been  ashamed  of  himself 
not  to  have  been  deceived.  A  man  to  be  genuine  to 
himself  must  believe  and  be  believed,  must  trust  and 
be  trusted. 

Suspicion  is  no  less  an  enemy  to  virtue  than  to 
happiness.  He  that  is  already  corrupt  is  naturally 
suspicious,  and  he  that  becomes  suspicious  will 
quickly  become  corrupt.  Suspicion  is  the  child  of 
guilt,  the  virtue  of  a  coward.  It  is  a  vain  and  fool- 
ish pride  which  would  teach  that  every  one  is  con- 
spiring against  your  happiness  or  has  designs  on  your 
reputation  and  business.  The  fact  is,  probably  no 
one  is  thinking  of  you.  Yet  your  jealous  disposition 
magnifies  every  little  circumstance,  and  thus  you  are 
continually  making  yourself  unhappy  when  no  real 
cause  exists.  You  are  to  strive  against  such  an  un- 
fortunate disposition  at  all  times.  And  it  can  be 
eradicated.  It  is  not  the  liberally  educated,  those 
who  have  read  much  and  thought  more,  who  are 
thus  suspicious  and  jealous  in  disposition  ;  but  it  is 
the  narrow-minded,  the  illiterate,  and  the  vulgar. 


454  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


'  For  of  all  sad  words  of  tongue  or  pen, 
The  saddest  are  these,    'It  might  have  been.'" 

— WHITTIE*. 

^HERE  is  not  a  word  in  the  English  tongue  which 
signifies  more  than  the  word  regret.  It  ex- 
presses every  degree  of  pain  in  the  gamut  of 
sorrow,  from  the  childish  regret  for  a  lost  play- 
thing, to  the  remorse  which,  when  the  sands  of  life 
are  almost  run,  contemplates  a  wasted  life. 

There  are  none  who  have  not  felt  its  potency ; 
no  age  escapes  it,  and  such  will  ever  be  the  case  as 
long  as  it  is  human  to  err.  But  as  pain  and  sick- 
ness are  the  sentinels  which  guard  the  life  and  health 
of  the  body,  so  it  is  regret  which  keeps  conscience 
alive  in  man  and  sustains  the  moral  faculties  in  the 
discharge  of  duty.  Life  is  full  of  sorrowful  scenes, 
so  much  that  could  not  have  been  avoided  ;  but  how 
much  added  force  there  is  to  sorrow  when  we  reflect 
that  we  are  to  blame  —  that  we  knew  at  the  time  that 
we  were  doing  wrong  —  that  we  disregarded  the 
warning  voice  of  conscience,  contemptuously  rejected 
the  proffered  advice  of  others,  and  have  nothing  to 
extenuate  the  keen  regret  gathered  with  the  harvest 
of  sorrow  sown  by  our  own  negligence. 

The  profoundest  sorrow  is  not  brought  upon  us 
by  the  world,  by  its  bitterness,  its  malice,  its  injus 
tice,    or   its    persecution.      These,   indeed,   affect  us, 
and  make  us  wiser,  more  weak,  or  more  brave.     We 


REGRET.  455 

can,  if  we  choose,  repel  the  world's  wrongs.  We 
can  laugh  at  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  us,  and  hurl 
defiance  upon  them  ;  or,  if  we  can  not  command  this 
spirit,  we  may  patiently  endure  what  we  do  not  re- 
sent. But  the  sorrows  we  bring  upon  ourselves  by 
our  own  lack  of  discretion,  or  heedless  obstinacy, 
when  regret  adds  its  sting,  then  it  is  that  we  expe- 
rience what  real  sorrow  is.  We  can  not  then  repel 
its  attacks  with  indifference. 

Regret  is  the  heart's  sorrow  for  past  offenses, — 
the  soul's  prompting  to  better  actions.  Have  you 
ever  stood  by  the  grave  of  one  dear  to  you,  and 
been  compelled  to  remember  how  much  happier  you 
might  have  made  that  life  which  has  now  passed  be- 
yond your  reach  ?  Has  the  hasty  or  unkind  word 
ever  come  back  to  you  and  repeated  itself  over  and 
over,  until  you  would  gladly  have  given  a  year  of 
your  own  life  to  have  recalled  it,  and  made  it  as  if  it 
had  never  been  ?  Let  us  remember  that  those  who 
are  now  living  may  soon  be  dead,  and  beware  of 
adding  to  the  things  done  that  ought  not  to  have 
been  done,  the  things  undone  that  ought  to  have 
been  done.  Many  a  heart  has  languished  for  the 
tenderness  withheld  in  life,  but  poured  out  too  late 
in  remorse  and  unavailing  regret. 

Let  us  be  tender  to  our  friends  while  they  are 
with  us,  —  not  wait  till  they  are  gone  to  find  out 
their  good  qualities.  Let  us  be  kind  and  gentle  now, 
and  not  wait  for  regret  to  tell  us  of  duty  undone. 
The  way  of  life  is  so  full  of  occasions  that  call  forth 
real  regret,  that  it  would  seem  that  there  was  little 


456  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

danger  of  manifesting  regret  where  it  was  uncalled 
for  and  useless.  Yet  such  spectacles  are  of  daily 
occurrence.  When  one  has  done  the  best  he  can, 
he  should  let  that  fact  console  him,  and  not  give  way 
to  causeless  regret  and  a  wish  that  he  had  done 
differently. 

Under  the  guiding  light  of  the  present  it  is  easy 
enough  to  discover  the  mistakes  of  the  past ;  and  it 
would  be  easy  to  make  advantageous  changes  were 
we  allowed  to  go  back  and  commence  anew  in  the 
journey  of  life.  But  alas  !  this  is  vain.  What  we 
should  do  is  so  to  learn  by  reason  of  regret  from  the 
lessons  of  the  past  that  we  become  fully  fitted  for  the 
duties  of  the  present.  Regret,  if  deep  and  hopeless, 
becomes  remorse,  which  settles  down  over  the  heart 
with  a  crushing  weight,  driving  from  thence  all  hope, 
unless,  indeed,  the  angel  of  forgiveness  brings  con- 
solation to  the  soul. 

There  are  many  walking  the  earth  whose  lives 
are  shadowed  by  some  great  sorrow,  to  which  is 
added  the  pain  of  regret  caused  by  their  own  heed- 
less and  inconsiderate  actions.  With  one,  it  is  the 
sorrow  of  a  reputation  gone,  —  some  act  of  folly 
swept  away  the  fair  name  founded  on  years  of  honest 
living.  With  another,  it  is  the  shadow  of  a  grave 
dark  and  deep  which  covers  the  form  of  one  whom 
death  claimed  before  he  had  redressed  some  wrong 
done,  carelessly  perhaps,  and  with  no  intention  of 
lasting  injury.  Hasty  and  inconsiderate  marriages 
cause  much  vain  repining  and  regret.  The  happi- 
ness of  life  is  gone  ;  the  hopes  of  a  home,  endearing 


MEG  RET.  457 

companionship,  are  fled,  because  hasty  and  inconsid- 
erate action  was  taken  where  care  and  study  was 
required.  Of  all  regrets,  the  remorse  that  must 
accompany  the  closing  moments  of  a  misspent  life 
must  possess  the  sharpest  sting.  Life  and  its  pos- 
sibilities allowed  to  go  to  waste  from  a  lack  of  con- 
sideration on  our  part !  Oh,  that  the  young  would 
give  heed  to  the  warning  voice  of  experience,  and 
thus  escape  the  vain  regrets  of  later" years  ! 

To  escape  regret,  it  is  necessary  to  form  the 
habit  of  doing  your  whole  duty  and  avoiding  impul- 
sive actions.  Pause  before  you  say  a  hasty  or  a 
cruel  thing.  Human  life  is  so  uncertain,  are  you 
sure  that  you  will  have  a  chance  to  make  it  right 
before  death  will  have  claimed  the  object  of  your  mo- 
mentary anger  ?  Tears  and  expressions  of  regret 
are  of  no  avail  when  addressed  to  cold  clay.  Pause 
before  doing  a  hasty  or  inconsiderate  action.  It  may 
be  of  such  a  nature  that  you  can  not  undo  its  effects. 
It  may  embitter  your  whole  after  life.  Reflection  is 
your  good  angel ;  give  heed  to  her  warning  voice. 
How  are  you  spending  your  life  ?  Are  you  living  as 
becomes  a  man  and  immortal  being  ?  Are  you  striv- 
ing to  make  the  most  of  life  and  its  possibilities?  If 
not,  be  warned  in  time,  and  turn  from  your  ways. 
When  life  is  nearly  ended  you  will  think  of  the  past, 
—  wonder  at  your  actions,  and  sigh  for  the  days  of 
youth.  They  will  not  come  to  you  again ;  therefore, 
make  the  most  of  them  now.  Thus  will  you  spare 
yourself  many  vain  regrets,  and  your  closing  days 
will  be  days  of  peace. 


458  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


;<  Lttll'd  in  the  countless  chambers  of  the  brain, 
Our  thoughts  are  linked  by  many  a  hidden  chain. 
Awake  but  one,  and  lo,  what  myriads  rise  ! 
Each  stamps  its  image  as  the  other  flies." 

—POPE. 

|OME  one  has  said  that  of  all  the  gifts  with 
which  a  beneficent  Providence  has  endowed  man 
?$  the  gift  of  memory  is  the  noblest.  Without  it 
life  would  be  a  blank,  a  dreary  void,  an  inex- 
tricable chaos,  an  unlettered  page  cast  upon  the  vast 
ocean  of  uncertainty.  Memory  is  the  cabinet  of 
the  imagination,  the  treasury  of  reason,  the  registry 
of  conscience,  and  the  council  chamber  of  thought. 
It  is  the  only  paradise  we  are  sure  of  always  pos- 
sessing. Even  our  first  parents  could  not  be  driven 
out  of  it.  The  memory  of  good  actions  is  the  star- 
light of  the  soul.  Memory  tempers  prosperity  by 
recalling  past  distresses,  mitigates  adversity  by  bring- 
ing up  the  thoughts  of  past  joys,  it  controls  youth 
and  delights  old  age. 

Memory  is  the  golden  cord  binding  all  the  natu- 
ral gifts  and  excellences  together,  and  though  it  is 
not  wisdom  in  itself,  still  it  is  the  primary  and  funda- 
mental power  without  which  there  could  be  no  other 
intellectual  operations.  Memory  is  often  accused  of 
treachery  and  inconstancy,  when,  if  inquired  into; 
the  fault  will  be  found  to  rest  with  ourselves.  Al 
though  nature  has  wisely  proportioned  the  strength 


MEMORY.  459 

and  liberality  of  this  gift  to  various  intellects,  yet  all 
have  it  in  their  power  to  improve  it  by  classing,  by 
analyzing  and  arranging  the  different  subjects  which 
successively  occupy  their  minds.  By  these  means 
habits  of  thought  and  reflection  are  required,  which 
will  materially  conduce  to  the  invigorating  of  the  un- 
derstanding, the  improvement  of  the  mind,  and  the 
strengthening  and  correction  of  the  mental  powers. 

A  quick  and  retentive  memory  both  of  words  and 
things  is  an  invaluable  treasure,  and  may  be  had  by 
any  one  who  will  take  the  necessary  pains.  Educa- 
tors sometimes  in  their  anxiety  to  secure  a  wide  range 
of  studies  fail  to  sufficiently  impress  on  their  scholars' 
minds  the  value  of  memory.  This  memory  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  gifts  God  has  bestowed  upon  us, 
and  one  of  the  most  mysterious.  The  more  it  is 
called  upon  to  exercise  its  proper  function  the  more 
it  is  able  to  do,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  its 
power.  It  is  not  what  one  has  learned,  but  what  he 
remembers  and  applies  that  makes  him  wise.  Still 
memory  should  be  used  as  the  store-house,  not  as 
a  kmiber-room.  The  mind  must  be  trained  to 
think  as  well  as  remember,  and  to  remember  princi- 
ples and  outlines  rather  than  words  and  sentences. 

It  is  an  old  saying  that  we  forget  nothing,  as 
people  in  fever  begin  suddenly  to  talk  the  language 
of  their  infancy.  We  are  stricken  by  memory  some- 
times, and  old  reflections  rush  back  to  us  as  vivid  as 
in  the  time  when  they  were  our  daily  talk.  We 
think  of  faces,  and  they  return  to  us  as  plainly  as 
when  their  presence  gladdened  our  eyes  and  their 


460  GOLDEN  OEMS  OF  LIFE. 

accents  thrilled  in  our  ears.  Many  an  affection  that 
apparently  came  to  an  end,  and  dropped  out  of  life 
one  way  or  another,  was  only  lying  dormant.  A 
scent,  a  note  of  music,  a  voice  long  unheard,  the 
stirring  of  the  Summer  breeze  may  startle  us  with 
the  sudden  revival  of  long  forgotten  feelings  and 
thoughts. 

Memory  can  glean,  but  can  never  renew.  It 
brings  us  joys  faint  as  the  perfume  of  the  flowers, 
faded  and  dried  of  the  Summer  that  is  gone.  Who 
is  there  whose  heart  is  dead  to  the  memories  of  his 
childhood  days  ?  Old  times  steal  upon  us,  quietly 
making  us  young  again,  even  amid  the  din  of  busi^ 
ness  and  the  whirl  of  household  cares  !  The  careworn 
face  relaxes  its  tension  and  the  saddened  brow  clears 
for  a  time  as  some  well-remembered  scene  rushes 
through  the  mind,  bringing  back  the  childhood  home 
and  the  loved  faces  which  met  around  the  daily 
board. 

We  love  to  think  of  days  that  are  past  if  they 
were  days  of  happiness,  and  even  experience  a  sad 
pleasure  in  recalling  days  of  sadness.  The  man  or 
woman  who  loves  to  look  back  upon  the  direction 
and  counsel  of  a  wise  father  and  faithful  mother  will 
seldom  do  an  unworthy  or  unjust  act.  And  we  find 
the  most  degraded  at  times  marveling  as  to  what  led 
them  into  sin,  because  the  remembrance  of  a  happy 
home  is  theirs — a  home  of  purity,  of  a  father's  and 
mother's  loving  counsel  and  upright  example. 

When  sorrow  and  trial,  care  and  temptation,  sur- 
round us  how  often  do  we  gain  courage  and  renewed 


MEMORY.  461 

strength  by  thinking  of  the  past.  The  bankrupt 
loves  to  think  that  he  started  on  a  fair  basis  from 
the  cradle.  And  the  worldly  woman,  who  seems 
plunged  in  the  vortex  of  fashionable  pleasure,  stops 
to  think  that  it  was  not  always  thus,  that  a  devoted 
mother  taught  her  nobler  things,  and  an  earnest 
father  bade  her  live  for  some  real  object  in  life. 
Just  that  moment's  reflection  may  sow  the  seed 
which  will  develop  into  a  life  of  charity  and  good 
works  among  her  fellow-mortals.  And  that  con- 
demned criminal — who  knows  what  memory  recalls 
to  his  view?  Perhaps  it  was  a  home  from  whence 
the  incense  of  daily  prayer  ascended  to  God — where 
kind  words  enforced  a  cheerful  obedience  to  wise 
counsels.  Disturb  him  not;  the  influence  is  holy — 
't  is  memory's  voice  urging  him  to  final  repentance. 

We  love  to  think  of  the  unbroken  circle;  the 
curly  heads  of  the  children,  and  the  various  disposi- 
tions that  marked  them ;  the  childish  employments 
and  aspirations ;  the  mischievous  pranks  and  merited 
punishment;  and  the  quiet  hour  when  the  mother, 
gathering  the  little  ones  about  her,  told  them  of  the 
better  life  to  come,  and  sought  earnestly  to  teach 
them  that  here  below  we  live  as  school  children, 
gaining  an  education  that  shall  fit  ur.  for  the  brighter 
home  hereafter.  But  these  thoughts  are  not  alto- 
gether of  joyous  scenes.  Change  and  death  ap- 
peared on  the  scene,  and  strangers  came  to  dwell  in 
the  home  of  our  childhood. 

It  is  strange  what  slight  things  suffice  to  recall 
the  scenes  of  childhood.  A  fallen  tree,  a  house  in 


462  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ruins,  a  pebbly  bank,  or  the  flowers  by  the  wayside, 
arrest  our  steps,  and  carry  the  thoughts  back  to 
other  days.  In  fancy  we  again  visit  the  moss)' 
bank  by  the  wayside,  where  we  so  often  sat  for  hours 
drinking  in  the  beauty  of  the  primrose  with  our  eyes; 
the  sheltered  glen,  darkly  green,  filled  with  the  per 
fume  of  violets  that  shone  in  their  intense  blue  like 
another  sky  spread  upon  the  earth ;  the  laughter  of 
merry  voices,  are  all  brought  back  to  memory  by  the 
simplest  causes. 

The  reminiscences  of  youth  are  a  trite  theme,  but 
it  possesses  an  interest  which  the  world  can  not  dis- 
lodge from  our  breasts.  If  all  then  was  not  uninter 
rupted  sunshine,  yet  the  clouds  flew  rapidly  by,  and 
left  no  permanent  shade  behind  them,  as  do  those 
of  mature  years.  From  the  covenants  of  friendship 
then  we  thought  in  after  days  to  enjoy  the  benefits 
and  treasures  of  love.  But  the  forces  of  life  have 
driven  us  asunder,  and  swept  away  all  but  the 
memory  of  the  past.  How  different  the  contrast  in 
thoughts  and  feelings  then  and  now!  Then  it  was 
the  trusting  confidence  of  childhood ;  now  it  is  the 
doubting  mind  that  hath  tasted  of  the  world's  insin- 
cerity. We  had  faith  then,  but  we  have  doiibts  now. 

The  heart  must,  nay,  it  has,  grown  old,  and  is 
full  of  cares.  It  will  relate  at  length  the  history  of 
its  sorrows,  but  it  has  few  joys  to  communicate. 
Memory  seldom  fails  when  its  office  is  to  show  us 
the  tomb  of  our  buried  hopes.  Joy's  recollection  is 
no  longer  joy,  but  sorrow's  memory  is  a  sorrow  still. 
The  memory  of  past  favors  is  like  a  rainbow — bright, 


MEMORY.  463 

beautiful,  and  vivid — but  it  soon  fades  away ;  the 
memory  of  injuries  is  engraved  on  the  heart,  and 
remains  forever.  The  course  of  none  has  been  along 
so  beaten  a  road  that  they  remember  not  fondly  some 
resting-places  in  their  journey,  some  turns  in  their 
path  in  which  lovely  prospects  broke  in  upon  them, 
some  plats  of  green  refreshing  to  their  weary  feet. 

Some  one  has  said:  "  Memory  is  ever  active,  ever 
true;  alas,  if  it  were  only  as  easy  to  forget!"  Mem- 
ory is  a  faithful  steward,  and  holds  to  view  many 
scenes  over  which  we  would  fain  drop  the  curtain  of 
oblivion  and  let  the  dust  of  forgetfulness  cover  them 
from  view.  What  a  relief  could  we  but  forget  that 
angry  word !  The  uncalled-for  harshness  and  the 
passionate  outbreak  that  went  unrecalled  so  long 
that  death  intervened — O  could  we  but  erase  their 
remembrance  !  But  no,  with  a  retaliative  justice 
memory  summons  us  to  review  them !  Words  which 
can  never  be  recalled,  deeds  whose  effect  on  others 
can  never  be  effaced,  how  they  come,  one  by  one, 
showing  us  how  useless  our  lives  have  been — how 
vain !  Still,  these  memories  are  friends  in  disguise, 
for  they  are  faithful  monitors,  and  are  experience's 
ready  prompters.  How  much  is  spoken  which  de- 
serves no  remembrance,  and  which  does  not  serve  as 
a  single  link  in  one's  existence,  not  calling  forth  one 
result  for  others'  weal,  or  thrilling  one  chord  with 
nobler  impulses ! 

How  beautiful  to  distinguish  the  pearls  in  the 
rush  of  events — this  torrent  of  scenes  both  sad  and 
pleasing!  The  gift  of  memory  is  diversified  to  dif- 


464  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ferent  people,  some  having  a  taste  for  history,  some 
for  literature;  others  delight  in  politics,  and  so  on 
through  all  the  different  phases  of  existence,  with  its 
diversity  of  thought  and  feeling.  Memory  has  been 
compared  to  a  vast  storehouse.  How  important,  then, 
that  we  inure  the  mind  to  healthful  actions  instead  of 
feeding  it  on  poisons  until  it  will  produce  naught  but 
poisonous  thoughts !  Look  at  the  world  of  literature 
and  science.  Why  not  delve  in  its  mines  of  glitter- 
ing, genuine  treasures?  Inasmuch  as  the  mind  de- 
rives much  of  its  pleasures  from  thoughts  of  the  past 
it  becomes  all  to  provide,  as  far  as  possible,  for 
happy  reminiscences.  This  is  the  reward  of  right 
living.  An  aged  person  whose  thoughts  revert  to  a 
life  of  self-denial  and  exertion  in  virtue's  ways  has  a 
source  of  happiness,  pure  and  unalloyed,  which  is 
denied  to  him  whose  guiding  rule  of  life  has  been 
selfishness. 

Memory  has  a  strange  power  of  crowding  years 
into  moments.  This  is  observed  ofttimes  when  death 
is  about  to  close  the  scene.  As  the  sunlight  break?- 
from  the  clouds  and  across  the  hifis  at  the  close  of  i 
stormy  day,  lighting  up  the  distant  horizon,  even  sc 
does  memory,  when  the  light  of  life  is  fast  disappear- 
ing in  the  darkness  of  death,  break  forth  and  illume 
the  most  distant  scenes  and  incidents  of  past  years. 
And  the  very  clouds  of  sorrow  which  have  drifted 
between  are  lighted  up  with  a  glorious  light.  As 
the  soft,  clear  chimes  of  the  silvery  bells  at  the 
vesper  hour  float  down  on  the  shadowy  wings  of 
evening,  even  so  are  the  thoughts  of  old  age.  They 


HOPE.  465 

recall  scenes  past,  their  memory  being  all  that  is  left 
now.  It  may  be  the  face  of  a  mother,  the  smile  of 
a  sister,  a  father's  kind  voice,  all  stilled  by  death. 
Many  of  these  thoughts  are  too  sacred  to  expose  to 
the  gaze  of  the  curious;  they  are  their  only  treas- 
ures ;  beware  of  drawing  back  the  curtain  which 
conceals  them  from  your  view. 


"Auspicious  hope!  in  thy  sweet  gardens  grow 
Wreaths  for  each  toil,  a  cjiarm  for  every  woe." 

>LL  that  happens  in  the  world  is  directly  or  in- 
directly brought  about  by  hope.  Not  a  stroke 
of  work  would  be  done  were  it  not  in  hopes 
of  some  glorious  reward.  It  matters  not  that 
it  generally  paves  the  way  to  disappointment.  Phce- 
nix-like  it  rises  from  its  ashes  and  bids  us  forget  the 
disappointment  of  the  present  in  the  contemplation 
of  future  delights.  Hope,  then,  is  the  principal  anti- 
dote which  keeps  our  hearts  from  bursting  under  the 
pressure  of  evils. 

Some  call  hope  the  manna  from  heaven  that  com- 
forts us  in  all  extremities ;  others  the  pleasant  flat- 
terer that  caresses  the  unhappy  with  expectations  of 
happiness  in  the  bosom  of  futurity.  But  if  hope  be 
a  flatterer  she  is  the  most  upright  of  all  the  flattering 

parasites,  since  she  frequents  the  poor  man's  hut  as 
3° 


466  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

well  as  the  palace  of  his  superiors.  It  is  common 
to  all  men ;  those  who  possess  nothing  more  are 
still  cheered  by  hope.  When  all  else  fails  us  hope 
still  abides  with  us. 

Used  with  a  due  prudence  hope  acts  as  a  health- 
ful tonic;  intemperately  indulged,  as  an  enervating 
opiate.  The  vision  of  future  triumph,  which  at  first 
animates  exertion,  if  dwelt  upon  too  strongly,  will 
usurp  the  place  of  the  reality,  and  noble  objects  will 
be  contemplated,  not  for  their  own  inherent  worth, 
or  with  a  design  of  compassing  their  execution,  but 
for  the  day-dreams  they  engender.  Hope  sheds  a 
sweet  radiance  on  the  stream  of  life,  and  never  exerts 
her  magic  except  to  our  advantage.  We  seldom 
attain  what  she  beckons  us  to  pursue,  but  her  decep- 
tions resemble  those  which  the  dying  husbandman  in 
the  fable  practiced  upon  his  sons,  who,  by  telling 
them  of  a  hidden  mass  of  wealth  which  he  had 
buried  in  his  vineyard,  led  them  so  carefully  to 
delve  the  ground  that  they  found,  indeed,  a  treasure, 
though  not  in  gold,  in  wine. 

Reasonable  hope  is  endowed  with  a  vigorous  prin- 
ciple ;  it  sets  the  head  and  heart  to  work,  and  ani- 
mates one  to  do  his  utmost,  and  thus,  by  perpetually 
pushing  and  assuring,  it  puts  a  difficulty  out  of 
countenance,  and  makes  a  seeming  impossibility  give 
way.  Human  life  hath  not  a  surer  friend  nor,  many 
times,  a  greater  enemy  than  hope.  It  is  the  misera- 
ble man's  god,  which,  in  the  hardest  grip  of  calamity, 
never  fails  to  yield  him  beams  of  comfort.  It  is  the 
presumptuous  man's  devil,  which  leads  him  awhile  in 


HOPE.  467 

a  smooth  way,  and  then  lets  him  break  his  neck  on 
the  sudden. 

How  many  would  die  did  not  hope  sustain  them ! 
Hovy  many  have  died  by  hoping  too  much !  This 
wonder  may  we  find  in  hope — that  she  is  both  a 
flatterer  and  a  true  friend.  True  hope  is  based  on 
energy  of  character.  A  strong  mind  always  hopes, 
and  has  always  cause  to  hope,  because  it  knows  the 
mutability  of  human  affairs,  and  how  slight  a  circum- 
stance may  change  the  whole  course  of  events.  Such 
a  spirit,  too,  rests  upon  itself;  it  is  not  confined  to 
partial  views,  or  to  one  particular  object,  and  if  at 
last  all  should  be  lost  it  has  saved  itself  its  own  in- 
tegrity and  worth. 

It  is  best  to  hope  only  for  things  possible  and 
probable ;  he  that  hopes  too  much  shall  deceive  him- 
self at  last,  especially  if  his  industry  does  not  go 
along  with  his  hopes,  for  hope  without  action  is  a 
barren  undoer.  Hope  awakens  courage,  but  de- 
spondency is  the  last  of  all  evils ;  it  is  the  abandon- 
ment of  good — the  giving  up  of  the  battle  of  life 
with,  dead  nothingness.  When  the  other  emotions 
are  controlled  by  events  hope  remains  buoyant  and 
undismayed, — unchanged,  amidst  the  most  adverse 
circumstances.  Causes  that  effect,  with  depression, 
every  other  emotion  appear  to  give  fresh  elasticity 
to  hope.  No  oppression  can  crush  its  buoyancy ; 
from  under  every  weight  it  rebounds ;  amid  the  most 
depressing  circumstances  it  preserves  its  cheering 
influence  ;  no  disappointment  can  annihilate  its  power; 
no  experience  can  deter  us  from  listening  to  its  sweet 


468  GOLDEX  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

illusions ;  it  seems  a  counterpoise  for  misfortune,  an 
equivalent  for  every  disappointment. 

It  springs  early  into  existence ;  it  abides  through 
all  the  changes  of  life,  and  reaches  into  the  futurity 
of  time.  In  the  midst  of  disappointments  it  whispers 
consolation,  and  in  all  the  arduous  trials  of  life  it  is 
a  strong  staff  and  support.  If,  in  the  warmth  of 
anticipation,  it  prepares  the  way  for  the  very  disap- 
pointments to  which  it  afterwards  administers  relief 
it  must  be  confessed  that,  in  the  severer  inflictions  of 
adversity,  which  come  upon  us  unlocked  for,  and 
where  previously  the  voice  of  sorrow  was  never 
heard,  it  then  appears  like  an  angel  of  mercy,  and 
frequently  assuages  the  anguish  of  suffering,  and 
wipes  the  dropping  tears  from  the  eyes. 

Hope  lives  in  the  future,  but  dies  in  the  present. 
Its  estate  is  one  of  expectancy.  It  draws  large  drafts 
on  a  small  credit,  which  are  seldom  honored  when 
presented  at  the  bank  of  experience,  but  have  the 
rare  faculty  of  passing  readily  elsewhere.  Hope 
calculates  its  schemes  for  a  long  and  durable  life, 
presses  forward  to  imaginary  points  of  bliss,  and 
grasps  at  impossibilities,  and,  consequently,  very 
often  ensnares  men  into  beggary,  ruin,  and  dishonor. 
Hope  is  a  great  calculator,  but  a  poor  mathemati- 
cian. Its  problems  are  seldom  based  on  true  data, 
and  their  demonstration  is  more  often  fictitious  than 
otherwise. 

There  is  a  morality  in  every  true  hope  which  is  a 
source  of  consolation  to  all  who  rightly  seek  it.  It  is 
a  good  angel  within  that  whispers  of  triumph  over 


HOPE.  469 

evil,  of  the  success  of  good,  of  the  victory  of  truth, 
of  the  achievement  of  right.  "  It  hopeth  all  things." 
It  is  a  strong  ingredient  of  courage.  Under  its  guid- 
ing light  what  great  events  have  been  wrought  to  a 
successful  completion  !  It  is  a  friend  of  virtue.  Its 
religion  is  full  of  glorious  anticipations.  It  encour- 
ages all  things  good,  great,  and  noble. 

It  is  not  surprising  when  we  reflect  on  the  nature 
of  hope  that  we  find  it  to  be  such  a  mainspring  to 
human  action.  It  is  the  parent  of  all  effort  and  en- 
deavor, and  "  every  gift  of  noble  origin  is  breathed 
upon  by  hope's  perpetual  breath."  It  may  be  said 
to  be  the  moral  engine  that  moves '  the  world  and 
keeps  it  in  action.  Every  true  hope  which  has  for 
its  object  some  great  and  noble  design  is  an  unex- 
pressed prayer,  which  flies  on  angel's  wings  to  the 
throne  of  God,  and  returns  to  the  struggling  one  a 
precious  benison  of  inspiration  to  go  forth  on  his 
errand  of  good. 

A  true  hope  we  can  touch  somehow  through  all 
the  lights  and  shadows  of  life.  It  is  a  prophecy  ful- 
filled in  part  —  God's  earnest  money  paid  into  our 
hands,  that  he  will  be  ready  with,  the  whole  when  we 
are  ready  for  it.  It  is  the  sunlight  on  the  hill-top 
when  the  valley  is  dark  as  death  ;  the  spirit  touching 
us,  all  through  our  pilgrimage,  and  then  soaring 
away  with  us  into  the  blessed  life  where  we  may  ex- 
pect either  that  the  fruition  will  be  entirely  equal 
to  the  hope,  or  that  the  old  glamour  will  come  over 
us  again,  and  beckon  us  on  forever  as  the  choicest 
gift  heaven  has  to  give. 


470  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

"Hope  deferred,"  saith  the  proverb,  "  maketh 
the  heart  sick."  But  we  are  prone  to  be  too  dicta- 
torial as  to  how  we  enjoy  life ;  too  positive.  We 
must  not  determine  that  their  fulfillment  must  come 
in  just  the  way  we  wish,  or  else  we  will  be  miserable 
in  the  grief  of  disappointment.  It  is  not  for  man 
wholly  to  determine  his  steps.  Sometimes  what  he 
thinks  for  his  good  turns  out  ill ;  and  what  he  thinks 
a  great  evil  develops  a  great  blessing  in  disguise. 
It  is  folly,  almost  madness,  to  be  miserable  because 
things  are  not  as  we  would  have  them,  or  because 
we  are  disappointed  in  our  plans.  Many  of  our 
plans  must  be  defeated  for  our  own  good.  A  mul- 
titude of  little  hopes  must  every  day  be  crushed,  and 
now  and  then  a  great  one. 

But  while  we  may  be  all  wrong  in  our  thoughts 
of  the  special  form  in  which  our  blessing  will  come, 
we  need  not  fail  of  the  blessing.  It  may  be  like  the 
mirage,  shifting  from  horizon  to  horizon  as  we  plod 
wearily  along ;  but  in  the  fullness  of  God's  own  time 
we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not.  There  is  always  a 
sadness  in  the  dying  of  a  great  hope.  It  is  like  the 
setting  of  the  sun;  The  brightness  of  our  life  is 
gone,  shadows  of  the  evening  fall  behind  us,  and  the 
world  seems  but  a  dim  reflection  of  itself — a  broader 
shadow.  We  look  forward  into  the  lonely  night. 
The  soul  withdraws  itself.  Then  stars  arise,  and  the 
night  is  holy. 

Hopes  and  fears  checker  human  life.  The  one 
serves  to  keep  us  from  presumption,  the  other  from 
despair.  Hope  is  the  last  thing  that  dieth  in  man. 


HOPE.  471 

Though  it  may  be  deceptive,  yet  it  is  of  this  good 
use  to  us,  that  while  we  are  traveling  through  this 
life  it  conducts  us  in  an  easier  and  more  pleasant 
way  to  our  journey's  end.  There  is  no  one  so  fallen 
but  that  he  may  have  hopes  ;  nor  is  any  so  exalted 
as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  fears.  "  When  faith, 
temperance,  and  other  celestial  powers  left  the  earth," 
says  one  of  the  ancient  writers,  "  Hope  was  the  only 
goddess  that  stayed  behind." 

The  man  who  carries  a  lantern  in  a  dark  night 
can  have  friends  walking  safely  by  the  light  of  its 
rays,  and  not  be  defrauded  himself.  So  he  who  is 
of  cheerful  disposition,  and  has  the  light  of  hope  in 
his  breast,  can  help  on  many  others  in  this  world's 
darkness,  not  to  his  own  loss,  but  to  their  gain. 
Hope  is  an  anchor  to  the  soul,  both  sure  and  stead- 
fast, that  will  restrain  our  frail  bark  and  enable  us 
to  outride  the  storms  of  time. 

There  are  so  many  humiliations  in  this  world !  The 
secret  is  to  rise  above  them,  to  throw  off  dissatisfac- 
tion, and  to  grasp  some  pleasing  hope,  grateful  and 
beneficial  to  the  mind.  We  are  encompassed  by 
illusions  and  delusions.  We  need  the  comforting 
promises  of  the  heart  —  a  steadfast  faith  in  the  good 
and  true,  and  hopefulness  in  all  things,  especially  of 
futurity.  Hope  is  rich  and  glorious,  and  faithfully 
should  it  be  cultivated.  Let  its  inspiring  influence 
grow  in  the  heart ;  it  will  give  strength  and  courage. 

Let  the  cheerful  word  fall  from  the  lips,  and  the 
smile  play  upon  the  countenance.  The  way  of  the 
world  is  dark  enough  even  to  the  most  favored  ones 


472  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

among  us.  Why  not,  then,  gather  all  the  happiness 
out  of  life  that  you  can  ?  Why  not  strive  to  culti- 
vate the  cheerful,  hopeful  disposition  that  will  enable 
you  to  see  the  silver  lining'  to  every  cloud  ?  By  such 
a  course  you  will  do  much  to  assuage  the  sorrow: 
and  to  increase  the  joys  and  pleasures  of  life. 


is  the  great  test  of  human  char- 
acter. Many  are  not  able  to  endure  prosperity. 
It  is  like  the  light  of  the  sun  to  a  weak  eye — 
glorious,  indeed,  in  itself,  but  not  proportioned 
to  such  an  instrument.  Greatness  stands  upon  a 
precipice,  and  if  prosperity  carries  a  man  ever  so 
little  beyond  his  poise,  it  overbears  and  dashes  him 
to  pieces. 

Moderate  prosperity  is  not  only  to  be  hopefully 
expected  as  the  proper  reward  of  a  life's  exertion,  but 
to  bring  the  best  human  qualities  to  any  thing  like 
perfection,  to  fill  them  with  the  sweet  juices  of 
courtesy  and  charity,  prosperity,  or  a  moderate 
amount  of  it,  is  required,  just  as  sunshine  is  needed 
for  the  ripening  of  peaches  and  apricots.  But'  pros- 
perity, if  it  be  good  for  the  encouragement  of  hu 
inanity,  is  full  of  danger  as  well.  There  is  ever  a 
certain  languor  attending  the  fullness.  When  the 
heart  has  no  more  to  wish,  it  yawns  over  its  posses- 
sion, and  the  energy  of  the  soul  goes  out  like  a 


PROSPERITY.  473 

flame  that  has  no  more  to  devour.  A  smooth  sea 
never  made  skillful  mariners,  neither  do  uninterrupted 
prosperity  and  success  qualify  men  for  usefulness  and 
happiness.  The  storms  of  adversity,  like  those  of 
:he  ocean,  rouse  the  faculties  and  excite  the  inven- 
tion, prudence,  and  skill  of  the  voyager.  The  mar- 
tyrs of  ancient  times,  in  bracing  their  minds  to 
outward  calamities,  acquired  a  loftiness  of  purpose 
and  a  moral  heroism  worth  a  life-time  of  softness  and 
security. 

It  seems  as  if  man  were  like  the  earth.  It  can 
not  back  forever  in  the  sunshine.  The  snows  of 
Winter  and  its  frosts  must  come  and  work  in  the 
ground,  and  mellow  it  to  make  it  fruitful,  A  man 
upon  whom  continuous  sunshine  falls  is  like  the  earth 
in  August — he  becomes  parched,  hard,  and  close- 
grained.  To  some  men  the  Winter  and  Spring  come 
when  they  are  young.  Others  are  born  in  Summer, 
and  made  fit  to  live  only  by  a  Winter  of  sorrow 
coming  to  them  when  they  are  middle-aged  or  old. 
But  come  it  must,  and  under  its  softening  influence 
the  mind  is  fitted  for  the  routine  of  life,  and  then  the 
warm,  shining  sun  of  prosperity  spreads  abroad  in 
the  heart  its  vivifying  influence,  and  the  best  powers 
of  man  are  developed. 

The  way  to  prosperity  is  as  plain  as  the  way  to 
market.  It  depends  chiefly  on  two  words — industry 
and  frugality;  that  is,  waste  neither  time  nor  money, 
but  make  the  best  use  of  both.  Without  industry 
and  frugality  nothing  will  do,  and  with  them  every 
thing.  There  is  no  other  way  to  arrive  at  a  true 


474  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

prosperity.  It  is  gained  only  by  diligent  application 
to  the  business  of  life.  The  men  who  may  be  said  to 
be  prosperous  are  seldom  men  who  have  been  rocked 
in  the  cradle  of  indulgence  or  caressed  in  the  lap  of 
luxury,  but  they  are  men  whom  necessity  has  called 
from  the  shade  of  retirement  to  contend  under  the 
scorching  rays  of  the  sun  with  the  stern  realities  of 
life,  with  all  of  its  vicissitudes. 

Many  make  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  pros- 
perity and  happiness  are  identical  terms.  The  most 
prosperous  are  often  the  most  miserable,  while  happi- 
ness may  dwell  with  him  whose  every  effort  has 
failed,  provided  only  that  he  hath  done  his  best. 
There  is,  therefore,  a  true  and  a  false  prosperity, 
much  resembling  each  other.  But  the  similarity  is  in 
resemblance  only,  for  they  differ  in  constitution.  The 
one  is  true  and  substantial,  and  is  the  result  of  a 
well-lived  life.  Its  rewards  are  inward  content  and 
surroundings  of  comfort ;  the  enjoyment  of  the  real 
blessings  of  life  and  the  unfolding  of  all  the  better 
nature  of  man.  Its  imitation  is  the  reward  gained 
by  unjust  or  dishonest  means.  It  may  have  the 
luster,  but  it  lacketh  the  ring  and  weight  of  the  true 
metal.  It  may  have  the  outward  adornment,  but  can 
not  bring  its  possessor  the  inward  peace  of  him  who 
hath  the  former.  Instead  cf  unfolding  and  expand- 
ing the  heart  of  man,  it  hardens  it  and  dries  up  the 
better  nature. 

Engage  in  one  kind  of  business  only,  and  stick  to 
it  until  you  succeed,  or  until  your  experience  shows 
that  you  should  abandon  it.  A  constant  hammering 


PROSPERITY.  475 

will  generally  drive  it  home  at  last  so  that  it  can  be 
clinched.  When  a  man's  undivided  attention  is  cen- 
tered on  one  object  his  mind  will  be  constantly  sug- 
gesting improvements  of  value,  which  would  escape 
him  were  his  brain  occupied  by  a  dozen  different 
objects  at  once.  Many  a  fortune  has  slipped  through 
a  man's  fingers  because  of  attention  thus  engaged; 
there  is  good  sense  in  the  old  caution  against  having 
too  many  .irons  in  the  fire  at  once. 

Adversity  in  early  life  often  lays  the  foundation 
for  future  prosperity.  The  hand  of  adversity  is  cold, 
but  it  is  the  hand  of  a  friend.  It  dispels  from  the 
youthful  mind  the  pleasing,  but  vain,  illusions  of  un- 
taught fancy,  and  shows  that  the  road  to  success  and 
prosperity  is  always  a  road  requiring  energetic  action 
to  surmount  its  difficulties.  There  is  something  sub- 
lime in  the  resolute,  fixed  purpose  of  him  who  deter- 
mines to  rise  superior  to  ill-fortune.  "At  thy  first 
entrance  upon  thy  estate,"  saith  a  wise  man,  "keep  a 
low  sail  that  thou  mayest  rise  with  honor ;  thou  canst 
not  decline  without  shame ;  he  that  begins  where  his 
father  ends  will  generally  end  where. his  father  began." 

As  full  ears  load  and  lay  corn  so  does  too  much 
fortune  bend  and  break  the  mind.  It  deserves  to  be 
considered,  too,  as  another  advantage,  that  affliction 
moves  pity  and  reconciles  our  enemies ;  but  pros- 
perity provokes  envy  and  loses  us  even  our  friends. 
Again,  adversity  is  a  desolate  and  abandoned  state, 
and,  as  rats  and  mice  forsake  a  tottering  house,  so 
do  the  generality  of  men  forsake  him  who  is  cast 
by  adversity.  As  a  consequence,  he  who  has 


476  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

never  known  adversity  is  but  half  acquainted  with 
others  or  with  himself,  and  can  not  be  expected  to 
put  forth  full  measure  of  his  powers. 

The  patient  conquest  of  difficulties  which  rise  in 
the  regular  and  legitimate  channels  of  business  and 
enterprise  is  not  only  essential  in  securing  the  ulti- 
mate prosperity  which  you  seek,  but  it  is  requisite 
to  prepare  your  mind  for  enjoying  your  prosperity. 
Every-where  in  human  experience,  as  frequently  as 
in  nature,  hardship  is  essential  to  ultimate  success. 
That  magnificent  oak  was  detained  twenty  years  in 
its  upward  growth  while  its  roots  took  a  great  turn 
around  a  bowlder,  by  which  the  tree  was  anchored  to 
withstand  the  storms  of  centuries.  They  who  are 
eminently  prosperous,  or  who  achieve  greatness  or 
even  notoriety  in  any  pursuit,  must  expect  to  make 
enemies.  Whoever  becomes  distinguished  is  sure  to 
be  a  mark  for  the  malicious  spite  of  those  who,  not 
deserving  success  themselves,  are  galled  by  the  mer- 
ited triumph  of  the  more  worthy.  Moreover,  the 
opposition  which  originates  in  such  despicable  mo- 
tives is  sure  to  be  of  the  most  unscrupulous  char- 
acter, hesitating  at  no  iniquity,  descending  to  the 
shabbiest  littleness.  Opposition,  if  it  is  honest  and 
manly,  is  not  in  itself  undesirable.  It  is  the  whet- 
stone by  which  a  highly  tempered  nature  is  polished 
and  sharpened.  Uninterrupted  prosperity  shows  us 
but  one  side  of  the  world.  For,  as  it  surrounds  us 
with  friends  who  will  tell  us  only  our  merits,  so  it 
silences  those  enemies  from  whom  alone  we  can  learn 
our  defects. 


TRIFLES.  477 


F  is  to  the  contempt  of  details  that  many  men 
may  trace  the  cause  of  their  present  misfortune. 
The  world  is  full  of  those  who  languish,  not  from 
a  lack  of  talents,  but  because,  in  spite  of  their 
many  brilliant  parts,  they  lack  the  power  of  properly 
estimating  the  value  of  trifles.  Their  souls  fire  with 
lofty  conceptions  of  some  work  to  be  achieved,  their 
minds  warm  with  enthusiasm  as  they  contemplate 
the  objects  already  attained ;  but  when  they  begin  to 
put  the  scheme  into  execution  they  turn  away  in 
disgust  from  the  dry  minutiae  and  Vulgar  drudgery 
which  are  requisite  for  its  accomplishment.  Such 
men  bewail  their  fate.  Failing  to  do  the  small  tasks 
of  life,  they  have  no  calls  to  higher  ones,  and  so 
complain  of  neglect. 

As  the  universe  itself  is  composed  of  minute 
atoms,  so  it  is  little  details,  mere  trifles,  which  go  to 
make  success  in  any  calling.  Attention  to  details  is 
an  element  of  effectiveness  which  no  reach  of  plan, 
no  loftiness  of  design,  no  enthusiasm  of  purpose  can 
dispense  with.  It  is  this  which  makes  the  difference 
between  the  practical  man,  who  pushes  his  thoughts 
to  a  useful  result,  and  the  mere  dreamer.  If  we 
would  do  much  good  in  the  world  we  must  be 
willing  to  do  good  in  little  things,  in  little  acts  of  be- 
nevolence one  after  another;  speaking  a  timely  and 
good  word  here,  doing  an  act  of  kindness  there,  and 
setting  a  good  example  always.  We  must  do  the 


478  G  OLDEN  GEMS  OF  L  TFE. 

first  good  thing  we  can,  and  then  the  next.  This 
is  the  only  way  to  accomplish  much  in  one's  life- 
time. He  who  waits  to  do  a  great  deal  of  good 
at  once  will  never  do  any  thing. 

The  disposition  of  mankind  is  to  despise  the  little 
incidents  of  every-day  life.  This  is  a  lamentable 
mistake,  since  nothing  in  this  life  is  really  small.  In 
the  complicated  and  marvelous  machinery  of  circum- 
stances it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  decide  what 
would  have  happened  as  to  some  event  if  the  small- 
est deviation  had  taken  place  in  the  march  of  those 
that  preceded  them.  In  a  factory  we  may  observe  the 
revolving  wheel  in  one  room  and  in  another,  many 
yards  distant,  the  silk  issuing  from  the  loom,  rivaling 
in  its  tints  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  There  are 
many  events  in  our  lives,  the  distance  between  which 
was  much  greater  than  that  between  the  wheel  and 
ribbon,  yet  the  connection  was  much  closer.  It  is, 
indeed,  strange  on  what  petty  trifles  the  crises  of 
life  are  decided.  A  chance  meeting  with  some  friend, 
an  unexpected  delay  in  some  business  venture,  may 
be  the  source  from  which  you  date  the  rise  of  good 
or  ill  fortune. 

There  are  properly  no  trifles  in  the  biography  of 
life.  The  little  things  in  youth  accumulate  into  char- 
acter in  age  and  destiny  in  eternity.  Little  sums 
make  up  the  grand  total  of  life.  Each  day  is  bright- 
ened or  clouded  by  trifles.  Great  things  come  but 
seldom,  and  are  often  unrecognized  until  they  are 
passed.  It  has  been  said  that  if  a  man  conceives  the 
idea  of  becoming  eminent  in  learning,  and  can  not 


TRIFLES.  479 

toil  through  the  many  little  drudgeries  necessary  to 
carry  him  on,  his  learning  will  soon  be  told.  Or  if 
one  undertakes  to  become  rich,  but  despises  the 
small  and  gradual  advances  by  which  wealth  is  ordi- 
narily acquired,  his  expectations  will  be  the  sum  of 
lis  riches. 

The  difference  between  first  and  second  class 
work  in  every  department  of  labor  lies  chiefly  in  the 
degree  of  care  with  which  the  minutiae  are  executed. 
No  matter  whether  born  king  or  peasant,  our  inevi- 
table accompaniment  through  life  is  a  succession  of 
small  duties,  which  must  be  met  and  overcome,  or 
else  they  will  defeat  our  plans.  When  we  reflect 
that  no  matter  what  profession  or  business  we  may 
follow,  it  demands  the  closest  attention  to  a  mass 
of  little  and  apparently  insignificant  details,  then  we 
comprehend  why  it  is  that  the  patient  plodder,  the 
slow  but  sure  man,  so  universally  surpasses  the 
genius  who  had  such  a  brilliant  career  in  college. 
It  is  all  very  well  to  form  vast  schemes.  It  is,  how- 
ever, the  homely  details  of  their  execution  that 
furnish  the  crucial  tests  of  character.  The  success- 
ful business  man  at  home,  surrounded  by  articles  of 
luxury,  is  a  spectacle  calculated  to  spur  on  the 
toiler.  But  the  merchant  at  his  office  has  had  to 
work  with  trifles,  to  toil  over  columns  of  figures  to 
post  his  ledger ;  and  while  you  were  carelessly  spend- 
ing a  dollar,  he  has  ransacked  his  books  to  discover 
what  has  become  of  a  stray  shilling. 

In  short,  success  in  any  pursuit  can  not  be  ob- 
tained unless  the  trifling-  details  of  the  business  are 


480  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

attended  to.  No  one  need  hope  to  rise  above  his 
present  situation  who  suffers  small  things  to  pass 
unimproved,  or  who,  metaphorically  speaking,  neg- 
lects to  pick  up  a  cent  because  it  is  not  a  shilling. 
All  successful  men  have  been  remarkable,  not  only 
for  general  scope  and  vigor,  but  for  their  attention 
to  minute  details.  Like  the  steam  hammer,  they 
can  forge  ponderous  bolts  or  fashion  a  pin.  It  is 
singular  that  in  view  of  these  facts  men  will  neglect 
details.  Many  even  consider  them  beneath  their  no- 
tice, and  when  they  hear  of  the  success  of  a  business 
man  who  is,  perhaps,  more  "solid"  than  brilliant, 
sneeringly  remark  that  he  is  "  great  in  little  things." 
But  with  character,  fortune,  and  the  concerns  of  life, 
it  is  the  littles  combined  that  form  the  great  whole. 
If  we  look  well  to  the  disposition  of  these,  the  sum 
total  will  be  cared  for.  It  is  the  pennies  neglected 
that  squander  the  dollars.  It  is  the  minutes  wasted 
that  wound  the  hours,  and  mar  the  day. 

Much  of  the  unhappiness  of  life  is  caused  by 
trifles.  It  is  not  the  great  bowlders,  but  the  small 
pebbles  on  the  road,  that  bring  the  traveling  horse 
on  his  knees  ;  and  it  is  the  petty  annoyances  of  life, 
to  be  met  and  conquered  afresh  each  day,  that  try 
most  severely  tTie  metal  of  which  we  are  made. 
Small  miseries,  like  small  debts,  hit  us  in  so  many 
places  and  meet  us  at  so  many  turns  and  corners, 
that  what  they  lack  in  weight  they  make  up  in  num- 
ber, and  render  it  less  hazardous  to  stand  the  fire 
of  one  cannon  ball  than  a  volley  composed  of  such  a 
shower  of  bullets.  The  great  sorrows  of  life  are 


TRIFLES.  481 

mercifully  few,  but  the  innumerable  petty  ones  o* 
every  day  occurrence  cause  many  to  grow  weary  of 
the  burden  of  life. 

Those  acts  which  go  to  form  a  person's  influence 
are  little  things,  but  they  are  potential  for  good  or 
evil  in  the  lives  of  others.  From  the  little  rivulets 
we  trace  the  onward  flowing  of  majestic  rivers,  con- 
stantly widening  until  lost  in  the  ocean  ;  and  so  the 
little  things  of  an  individual  life,  in  their  ever-widen- 
ing influence  for  good  or  evil,  diffusing  misery  or 
happiness  around  them,  are  borne  onward  to  swell 
the  joys  or  sorrows  of  the  boundless  ocean  of  eter- 
nity, and  should  be  noted  and  guarded  the  more 
carefully  from  their  infinitely  higher  importance. 
Words  may  seem  to  us  but  little  things,  but  they 
possess  a  power  beyond  calculation.  They  swiftly  fly 
from  us  to  others,  and  though  we  scarcely  give  them 
a  passing  thought,  their  spirit  lives.  Though  they 
are  as  fleeting  as  the  breath  that  gave  them,  their 
influence  is  as  enduring  as  the  heart  they  reach.  Ah, 
well  may  we  guard  our  lips  so  that  none  grieve  in 
silence  over  words  we  have  carelessly  dropped.  Well 
may  we  strive  to  scatter  loving,  cheering,  encourag- 
ing words,  to  soothe  the  weary,  and  awaken  the 
nobler,  finer  feelings  of  those  with  whom  we  daily 
come  in  contact. 

The  happiness,  also,  of  life  is  largely  composed 
of  trifles.  The  occasions  of  great  joys,  like  those  of 
great  sorrows,  are  few  and  far  between,  but  every 
day  brings  us  much  of  good  if  we  will  but  gather  it. 
"One  principal  reason,"  says  Jeremy  Bentham,  "why 
31 


482  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

our  existence  has  so  much  less  of  happiness  crowded 
into  it  than  is  accessible  to  us,  is  that  we  neglect  to 
gather  up  those  minute  particles  of  pleasure  which 
every  moment  offers  for  our  acceptance.  In  striving 
itter  a  sum  total,  we  forget  the  ciphers  of  which  it  is 
.cmposed;  struggling  against  inevitable  results  which 
ne  can  not  control,  too  often  man  is  heedless  of  those 
accessible  pleasures  whose  amount  is  by  no  means 
inconsiderable  when  collected  together ;  stretching 
out  his  hands  to  catch  the  stars,  man  forgets  the 
flowers  at  his  feet,  so  beautiful,  so  fragrary;,  so  mul- 
titudinous, so  various." 


"Time  was  is  past — thou  canst  not  it  recall; 
Time  is  thou  hast — employ  the  portion  small; 
Time  future  is  not,  and  may  never  be ; 
Time  present  is  the  only  time  for  thee." 

?PARE  moments  are  the  gold-dust  of  time — th<* 
portion  of  life  most  fruitful  in  good  or  evil. 
When  gathered  up  and  pressed  into  use  im- 
portant results  flow  from  thence;  when  neg- 
lected they  are  gaps  through  which  temptation  finds 
a  ready  entrance.  They  are  a  treasure  when  rightly 
used,  but  a  terrible  curse  when  abused.  There  are 
three  obligations  resting  upon  us  in  regard  to  the 
use  and  application  of  time.  There  is  the  duty  to 
ourselves,  in  the  care  of  our  happiness,  our  improve- 


LEISURE.  483 

ment,  and  providing  for  our  necessities;  the  duty  to 
those  dependent  upon  ourselves,  and  to  society;  and, 
lastly,  our  accountability  to  God,  who  bestows  upon 
us  this  valuable  gift,  not  without  its  being  accompa- 
nied with  the  greatest  inducements  and  the  strongest 
and  most  cogent  motives  to  improve  it  to  advantage 
in  these  different  respects. 

A  celebrated  Italian  was  wont  to  call  his  time  his 
estate ;  and  it  is  true  of  this,  as  of  other  estates  of 
which  the  young  come  into  possession,  that  it  is 
rarely  prized  till  it  is  nearly  squandered,  and  then, 
when  life  is  fast  waning,  they  begin  to  think  of 
spending  the  hours  wisely,  and  even  of  husbanding 
the  moments.  But  habits  of  idleness,  listlessness, 
and  procrastination  once  firmly  fixed  can  not  be  sud- 
denly thrown  off,  and  the  man  who  has  wasted  the 
precious  hours  of  life's  seed-time  finds  that  he  can 
not  reap  a  harvest  in  life's  Autumn.  The  value  of 
time  is  not  realized.  It  is  the  most  precious  thing 
in  all  the  world;  the  only  thing  of  which  it  is  a  vir- 
tue to  be  covetous,  and  yet  the  only  thing  of  which 
all  men  are  prodigal.  Time  is  so  precious  that  there 
is  never  but  one  moment  in  the  world  at  once,  and 
that  is  always  taken  away  before  another  is  given. 

It  is  astonishing  what  can  be  done  in  any  de- 
partment of  life  when  once  the  will  is  fired  with  a 
determination  to  use  the  leisure  time  rightly.  Only 
take  care  to  gather  up  your  fragments  of  leisure 
time,  and  employ  them  judiciously,  and  you  will  find 
time  for  the  accomplishment  of  almost  any  desired 
purpose.  Men  who  have,  the  highest  ambition  to 


484  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

accomplish  something  of  importance  in  this  life  fre- 
quently complain  of  a  lack  of  leisure.  But  the  truth 
is,  there  is  no  condition  in  which  the  chances  of  ac- 
complishing great  results  are  less  than  in  that  of 
leisure.  Life  is  composed  of  an  elastic  material,  and 
wherever  a  solid  piece  of  business  is  removed  the 
surrounding  atmosphere  of  trifles  rushes  in  as  cer- 
tainly as  the  air  into  a  bottle  when  you  pour  out  its 
contents.  If  you  would  not  have  your  hours  of  leis- 
ure frittered  away  on  trifles  you  must  guard  it  by 
barriers  of  resolution  and  precaution  as  strong  as  are 
needed  for  hours  of  study  and  business. 

The  people  who,  in  any  community,  have  done 
the  most  for  their  own  and  the  general  good  are  not 
the  wealthy,  leisurely  people  who  have  nothing  to  do, 
but  are  almost  uniformly  the  overworked  class,  \vho 
seem  well-nigh  swamped  with  cares,  and  are  in  a 
paroxysm  of  activity  from  January  to  December. 
Persons  of  this  class  have  learned  how  to  economize 
time,  and,  however  crowded  with  business,  are  al- 
ways found  capable  of  doing  a  little  more;  and  you 
may  rely  upon  them  in  their  busiest  season  with  far 
more  assurance  than  upon  the  idle  man.  It  is  much 
easier  for  one  who  is  always  exerting  himself  to  exert 
himself  a  little  more  for  an  extra  purpose  than  for 
him  who  does  nothing  to  get  up  steam  for  the  same 
end.  Give  a  busy  man  ten  minutes  in  which  to  write 
a  letter,  and  he  will  dash  it  off  at  once  ;  give  an  idle 
man  a  day,  and  he  will  put  it  off  till  to-morrow  or 
next  week.  There  is  a  momentum  in  an  active  man 
\vhich  of  itself  almost  carries  him  to  the  mark,  iust 


LEISURE.  485 

as  a  very  light  stroke  will  keep  a  hoop  going  when 
a  smart  one  was  required  to  set  it  in  motion. 

The  men  who  do  the  greatest  things  achieved  on 
this  globe  clo  them  not  so  much  by  fitful  efforts  as  by 
steady,  unremitting  toil — by  turning  even  the  mo- 
ments to  account.  They  have  the  genius  of  hard 
work — the  most  desirable  kind  of  genius.  The  time 
men  often  waste  in  needless  slumber,  in  lounging,  or 
in  idle  visits,  would  enable  them,  were  it  employed, 
to  execute  undertakings  which  seem  to  their  hurried 
and  worried  life  to  be  impossible.  Much  may  be 
done  in  those  little  shreds  and  patches  of  time  which 
every  day  produces,  and  which  most  men  throw  away, 
but  which,  nevertheless,  will  make,  at  the  end  of  life, 
no  small  deduction  from  the  sum  total. 

Time,  like  life,  can  never  be  recalled.  It  is  the 
material  out  of  which  all  great  workers  have  secured 
a  rich  inheritance  of  thoughts  and  deeds  for  their 
successors.  It  has  been  written,  "The  hours  perish, 
and  are  laid  to  our  charge."  How  many  of  these 
there  are  upon  the  records  of  the  past!  How  many 
hours  wasted,  worse  than  wasted  in  frivolous  con- 
versation, useless  employment — hours  of  which  we 
can  give  no  account,  and  in  which  we  benefited 
neithjr  ourselves  nor  others!  There  are  few  such 
hours  in  the  busiest  lives,  but  they  make  up  the 
whole  sum  in  the  lives  of  many.  Many  live  without 
accomplishing  any  good  ;  squander  their  time  away 
in  petty,  trifling  things,  as  if  the  only  object  in  life 
were  to  kill  time,  as  if  the  earth  were  not  a  place  for 
probation,  but  our  abiding  residence.  We  do  not 


486  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

value  time  as  we  should,  but  let  many  golden  hours 
pass  by  unimproved.  We  loiter  during  the  day-time 
of  life,  and  ere  we  know  it  the  night  draws  near 
"whet\  no  man  can  work."  Oh,  hours  misspent 
and  wasted!  How  we  wish  we  could  live  them  over 
again ! 

It  requires  no  small  degree  of  effort  to  resolutely 
employ  one's  time  so  as  to  allow  none  of  it  to  go  to 
waste.  There  are  a  thousand  causes  tending  to  the 
loss  of  time,  and  any  one  who  imagines  that  they 
would  do  great  things  if  they  only  had  leisure  are 
mistaken.  They  can  find  time  if  they  only  set  about 
doing  it.  Complain  not,  then,  of  your  want  of  leis^ 
ure.  Rather  thank  God  that  you  are  not  cursed 
with  leisure,  for  a  curse  it  is  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten. 
What,  if  to  achieve  some  good  work  which  you  have 
deeply  at  heart,  you  can  never  command  an  entire 
month,  a  week,  or  even  a  day?  Shall  you,  therefore, 
bid  it  an  eternal  adieu,  and  fold  your  arms  in  despair  ? 
The  thought  should  only  the  more  keenly  spur  you 
on  to  do  what  you  can  in  this  swiftly  passing  life  of 
yours.  Endeavor  to  compass  its  solution  by  gather- 
ing up  the  broken  fragments  of  your  time,  rendered 
more  precious  by  their  brevity. 

Where  they  work  much  in  gold  the  very  dust  of 
the  room  is  carefully  gathered  up  for  the  few  grains 
of  gold  that  may  thus  be  saved.  Learn  from  this  the 
nobler  economy  of  time.  Glean  up  its  golden  dust 
economize  with  tenfold  care  those  raspings  and  par- 
ings of  existence,  those  leavings  of  days  and  bits  of 
hours,  so  valueless  singly,  so  inestimable  in  the 


LEISURE.  487 

aggregate,  and  you  will  be  rich  in  leisure.  Rely 
upon  it,  if  you  are  a  miser  of  moments,  if  you  hoard 
up  and  turn  to  account  odd  minutes  and  half-hours 
and  unexpected  holidays,  the  five-minute  gaps  while 
the  table  is  spreading,  your  careful  gleanings  at  the 
*nd  of  life  will  have  formed  a  colossal  and  solid  block 
of  time,  and  you  will  die  wealthier  in  good  deeds 
harvested  than  thousands  whose  time  is  all  their  own. 
It  has  been  written  that  "  he  who  toys  with  time 
trifles  with  a  frozen  serpent,  which  afterwards  turns 
upon  the  hand  which  indulged  the  sport,  and  inflicts 
a  deadly  wound."  There  are  many  persons  who 
sadly  realize  this  in  their  own  lives.  When  age  with 
its  frosts  of  years  has  come  their  reflections  can  not 
be  otherwise  than  of  the  saddest  kind  as  they  ponder 
over  wasted  time,  the  hours  they  spent  in  a  worse 
than  foolish  manner.  Death  often  touches  with  a 
terrible  emphasis  the  value  of  time.  But,  alas!  the 
lesson  comes  too  late.  It  is  for  the  living  wisely  to 
consider  the  end  of  their  existence,  to  reflect  on  the 
possibilities  of  life,  to  resolve  to  waste  no  time  in 
idleness,  but  to  be  up  and  doing  in  a  manner  befit- 
ting one  who  lives  here  a  life  preparatory  simply  to 
another  and  better  existence. 


488  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


JAPPINESS    is    that   single  and   glorious   thing 
which  is  the  very  light  and  sun  of  the  wholt 
animated    universe,   and   where    she    is    not    it 
were  better  that  nothing  should  be.     Without 
her  wisdom  is  but  a  shadow,  and  virtue  a  name. 

It  is  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness  that  the  energies 
of  man  are  put  forth.  It  matters  not  that  we  are 
generally  disappointed  in  the  ultimate  results  of  our 
endeavors.  Earthly  happiness  is  a  phantom  of  which 
we  hear  much,  but  see  little,  whose  promises  are  con- 
stantly given  and  constantly  broken,  but  as  constantly 
believed.  She  cheats  us  with  the  sound  instead  of 
the  substance,  and  with  the  blossom  instead  of  the 
fruit.  Anticipation  is  her  herald,  but  disappointment 
is  her  companion.  In  the  ideal  scene  every  thing  is 
painted  in  bright  colors.  There  are  no  drawbacks, 
no  disappointments,  in  that  picture,  but  in  the  reality 
they  are  sure  to  appear.  The  anticipation  of  a  pleas- 
ure may  have  lasted  for  weeks  in  the  mind,  and  have 
been  dwelt  on  in  all  the  endless  variety  of  possibili- 
ties, while  the  reality  lasts  but  a  short  time.  Hence, 
the  feeling  of  disappointment  ensues.  Hope  imme- 
diately rallies  the  powers.  We  turn  to  new  plans, 
and  begin  again  the  round  of  anticipation,  ending  in 
disappointments. 

Happiness  is  much  like  to-morrow — only  one  day 
from  us,  yet  never  arriving.  It  is,  in  a  word,  hope 
or  anticipation.  In  this  life  we  pursue  it;  in  the 


489 


future  life  we  hope  to  overtake  it.  It  is  the  experi- 
ence of  all  that,  having  realized  our  hopes,  of  what- 
ever nature  they  may  be,  we  are  not  satisfied.  And 
it  is  well  for  man  that  he  is  so  constituted,  since 
satisfaction  would  be  a  bar  to  future  efforts.  We  at 
once  form  new  plans,  grander  and  more  comprehen- 
sive in  their  scope  ;  we  renew  the  struggle,  press 
forward  to  their  accomplishment,  finding  pleasure 
in  the  pursuit,  if  not  in  the  possession.  Perhaps 
nothing  more  plainly  shows  the  diversity  of  the 
human  mind  than  the  different  methods  employed 
in  this  pursuit.  Some  seek  it  in  the  acquisition  of 
wealth;  others,  of  power;  others,  of  fame.  Some, 
by  plunging  into  society,  endeavor,  by  a  giddy  round 
of  pleasure,  to  catch  the  same  evanescent  shadow 
that  others  seek  by  a  life  of  solitude.  No  class  or 
race  of  people  exist  but  that  have  some  characteristic 
mode  in  which  they  trust  to  secure  happiness.  The 
savage  seeks  it  in  hunting  and  fishing,  in  barbarous 
warfare,  or  in  the  rude  war  dance.  National  pecul- 
iarities are  strongly  shown  in  their  ideas  of  what 
constitutes  happiness  ;  the  light-hearted  nations  of  the 
sunny  south  differing  in  this  respect  from  their  more 
serious  northern  neighbors.  To  be  happy  is  the 
summing  up  of  all  the  ends  and  aims  on  earth.  It 
is  a  noble  desire,  implanted  in  the  human  breast  by 
the  Creator  for  purposes  known  only  to  his  wisdom. 
We  talk  of  wealth,  fame,  and  power  as  undeniable 
sources  of  enjoyment  ;  and  limited  fortune,  obscurity, 
and  insignificance  as  incompatible  with  felicity.  This 
is  an  instance  of  the  remarkable  distinction  between 


490  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

theoretic  conclusions  and  experience.  However  brill- 
iant in  speculation  wealth,  fame,  and  power  are  found 
in  possession  impotent  to  confer  happiness.  How- 
ever decried  in  prospect  limited  fortune,  obscurity, 
and  insignificance  are,  by  experience,  found  most 
friendly  to  real  and  lasting"  pleasure.  It  is  not  this, 
or  that  or  the  other  peculiar  mode  of  life,  nor  in  any 
particulars  of  outward  circumstances,  nor  in  any  def- 
inite kind  of  labor  or  duty,  that  we  may  positively 
expect  happiness.  If  we  do  we  shall  be  disappointed, 
for  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  have  things  just  our 
way,  or  to  control  our  outward  life  just  as  we  would. 

We  live  amid  a  multitude  of  influences  we  can 
not  altogether  control.  Nor  is  it  best  we  should. 
We  must  seek  happiness  in  the  right  state  of  mind, 
in  the  legitimate  labors,  duties,  and  pleasures  of  life, 
and  then  we  shall  find  what  we  seek,  yet  we  may 
find  it  under  very  different  circumstances  from  what 
we  expected.  It  is  much  more  equally  divided  than 
some  of  us  imagine.  One  man  may  possess  most  of 
the  materials,  but  little  of  the  thing;  another  may 
possess  much  of  the  thing,  but  few  of  the  materials. 
In  this  particular  view  happiness  has  been  compared 
to  the  manna  in  the  desert — "he  that  gathered  much 
had  nothing  over,  and  he  that  gathered  little  had  no 
lack."  Therefore,  to  diminish  envy,  let  us  consider 
not  what  others  possess,  but  what  they  enjoy. 

We  may  look  for  happiness  in  one  direction,  but 
find  it  in  another,  and  sometimes  where  we  expect 
the  least  we  may  find  the  most,  and  where  we  look 
for  the  most  we  shall  find  the  least.  WTe  are  short- 


HAPPINESS.  491 

sighted,  and  fail  to  see  the  ends  of  things.  A  great 
deal  of  the  misery  of  life  comes  from  this  disposition 
to  have  things  our  own  way,  as  though  we  could  not 
be  happy  under  any  circumstances  except  those  we 
have  framed  to  meet  our  own  wants.  Circumstances 
are  not  half  so  essential  to  our  happiness  as  most 
people  imagine.  A  cabin  is  often  the  seat  of  more 
true  happiness  than  a  palace.  Kings  may  bid  higher 
for  happiness  than  their,  subjects,  but  it  is  more  apt 
to  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  private  citizen  than  the  mon- 
arch. She  sends  to  the  palace  her  equipage,  her 
pomp,  and  her  train,  but  she  herself  is  traveling 
incognita  to  keep  a  private  appointment  with  con- 
tentment, and  to  partake  of  a  dinner  of  herbs  in  a 
cottage. 

The  disposition  to  make  the  best  of  life  is  what  we 
want  to  make  us  happy.  Those  who  are  so  willful 
and  seemingly  perverse  about  their  outward  circum- 
stances are  often  intensely  affected  by  the  merest  tri- 
fles. A  little  thing  shadows  their  life  for  days.  The 
want  of  some  convenience,  some  personal  gratification, 
some  outward  form  or  ornament  will  blight  a  day's  joy. 
They  can  often  bear  a  great  calamity  better  than  a 
small  disappointment,  because  they  nerve  themselves 
to  meet  the  former,  and  yield  to  the  latter  without  an 
effort  to  resist.  Molehills  are  magnified  into  mount- 
ains, and  in  the  shadow  of  these  mountains  they  sit 
down  and  weep.  The  very  things  they  ought  to  have 
sometimes  come  unasked,  and  because  they  are  not 
ready  for  them  they  will  not  enjoy  them,  but  rather 
make  them  the  cause  of  misery.  There  is  also  a 


492  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

disposition  in  such  minds  to  multiply  their  troubles  as 
well  as  magnify  them.  They  make  troubles  of  many 
things  which  should  really  be  regarded  as  privileges, 
opportunities  for  self-sacrifice,  for  culture,  for  improv- 
ing effort.  They  make  troubles  of  the  ordinary  allot- 
ments of  life  ;  its  duties,  charities,  changes,  unavoid 
able  accidents,  reverses,  and  experiences.  This  can 
be  considered  in  no  other  light  than  morally  wrong, 
for  these  common  allotments  and  experiences  were, 
beyond  all  question,  ordained  by  infinite  wisdom  as  a 
healthy  discipline  for  the  soul  of  man. 

Some  spend  life  determined  to  be  vastly  happy  at 
some  future  time,  but  for  the  present  put  off  all  en- 
joyment even  of  passing  pleasures,  seemingly  for  fear 
lest  all  such  present  comfort  detracts  from  the  sum 
total  of  future  enjoyments.  They,  indeed,  acquire 
wealth  or  fame  or  the  outward  surroundings  of  happi- 
ness ;  but,  alas  !  too  often  the  palmy  days  of  life  are 
gone,  and  the  acquisitions  from  which  they  fondly 
hoped  to  gather  much  of  human  happiness  form 
but  the  stately  surroundings  of  real  and  heart-felt 
wretchedness.  Happiness,  th<?n,  should  be  as  a 
modest  mansion,  which  we  can  inhabit  while  we  have 
our  health  and  vigor  to  enjoy  it;  not  a  fabric  so  vast 
and  expensive  that  it  has  cost  us  the  best  part  of  our 
lives  to  build  it,  and  which  we  can  enjoy  only  when 
we  have  less  occasion  for  a  habitation  than  for 
a  tomb. 

Happiness  is  a  mosaic  composed  of  many  small 
stones.  Each  taken  apart  and  viewed  singly  may  be 
of  little  value;  but  when  all  are  grouped  together, 


493 

judiciously  combined,  and  set  they  form  a  pleasing 
and  graceful  whole,  a  costly  jewel.  Trample  not 
under  foot,  then,  the  little  pleasures  which  a  gracious 
Providence  scatters  in  the  daily  path  while  in  search 
after  some  great  and  exciting  joy.  Happiness,  after 
all,  is  a  state  of  the  mind.  It  can  not  consist  in 
things.  It  follows  thence  that  in  the  right  discipline 
of  the  mind  is  the  secret  of  true  happiness.  In  vain 
do  they  talk  of  happiness  who  never  subdued  an 
impulse  in  obedience  to  a  principle.  He  who  never 
sacrificed  a  present  to  a  future  good,  or  a  personal  to 
a  general  one,  can  speak  of  happiness  only  as  the 
blind  do  of  colors. 

The  fountain  of  content  must  spring  up  in  the 
mind,  and  he  who  seeks  happiness  by  changing  any 
thing  but  his  own  disposition  will  waste  his  life  in 
fruitless  efforts,  and  multiply  the  griefs  which  he 
seeks  to  remove.  The  trouble  often  is,  we  are  too 
selfish,  too  unyielding  in  our  arrangements  for  life's 
bsst  good.  Because  we  can  not  find  happiness  in 
our  own  way  we  will  not  accept  it  in  its  appointed 
way,  and  so  make  ourselves  miserable.  Some  excel- 
lent people  are  very  unhappy  from  a  kind  of  stubborn 
adherence  to  their  settled  convictions  of  just  what 
they  must  have  and  what  they  must  do  to  be  happy. 
They  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  God  rules  above 
them,  and  a  thousand  influences  work  around  them, 
partly,  at  least,  beyond  their  control.  They  have  not 
determined  to  accept  life  cheerfully  in  whatever  form 
it  may  come,  and  seek  for  good  under  all  circum- 
stances. 


494  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

We  must  seek  for  happiness  in  heaven -ap- 
pointed ways,  in  study,  duty,  labor,  exalted  pleas- 
ures, with  a  constant  effort  to  find  it.  We  must 
seek  it  in  domestic  and  business  life,  in  the  relations 
we  hold  to  our  fellow-men,  and  in  the  daily  oppor- 
tunities afforded  us  for  discipline  and  self-sacrifice 
If,  then,  you  would  be  happy,  possessing  at  least 
that  measure  of  happiness  which  is  vouchsafed  to 
mortals,  we  must  intelligently  seek  happiness,  not  by 
way  of  impulse,  not  seeking  selfishly  our  own  good, 
but  with  a  forgetfulness  of  self  doing  all  the  good  we 
can,  and  with  a  thorough  consecration  of  soul  to  the 
good  of  what  we  seek. 


"  Greatness,  thou  gaudy  torment  of  our  souls, 
Tlie  wise  man's  fetters,  and  the  rage  of  fools." 

jHERE  is  so  much  in  this  world  that  is  artificial, 
so  much  that  glitters  in  borrowed  light,  that  it 
is  not  singular  that  moral  greatness  and  nobility 
are  often  counterfeited  by  some  baser  metal — 
so  much  so  that  it  is  no  slight  task  to  discriminate 
rightly  between  the  true  and  the  false,  and  to  deter- 
mine wherein  true  nobility  doth  consist.  When  we 
carefully  consider  the  nature  of  man  we  readily  admit 
that  it  is  in  the  possession  of  moral  and  intellectual 
powers  that  his  superiority  over  the  brute  world 
consists. 


TR  UE  NO  BILITY.  495 

In  the  society  of  his  fellow-men  man  ought  not  to 
be  rated  by  his  possessions,  by  his  stores  of  gold,  by 
his  office  of  honor  or  trust ;  these  are  but  temporary 
and  accidental  advantages,  and  the  next  turn  of  for- 
tune may  tear  them  from  his  grasp.  The  light  of 
fame,  though  it  shines  with  ever  so  clear  a  light,  is 
able  to  dispel  the  darkness  of  death  but  a  little  ways. 
The  greatest  characters  of  antiquity  are  but  little 
known.  Curiosity  follows  them  in  vain,  for  the  veil 
of  oblivion  successfully  hides  the  greater  portion  of 
their  lives. 

The  world  ofttimes  knows  nothing  of  its  greatest 
men.  Their  lives  were  passed  in  obscurity,  but  reaj 
nobility  of  character  was  theirs,  and  this  is  nearly 
always  unseen  and  unknown.  He  who  in  tattered 
garments  toils  on  the  way  may,  and  often  does,  pos- 
sess more  real  nobility  of  spirit  than  he  who  is  driven 
past  in  a  chariot.  It  is  the  mind  that  makes  the 
heart  rich ;  and  as  the  sun  breaks  through  the  dark- 
est clouds,  so  honor  peereth  in  the  meanest  habit. 
Public  martyrdom  of  every  shade  has  a  certain  eclat 
and  popularity  connected  with  it  that  will  often  bear 
men  up  to  endure  its  trials  with  courage  ;  but  those 
who  suffer  alone,  without  sympathy,  for  truth  or 
principle  —  those  who,  unnoticed  by  men,  maintain 
their  part,  and,  in  obscurity  and  amid  discourage- 
ment, patiently  fulfill  their  trust — these  are  the  real 
heroes  of  the  age,  and  the  suffering  they  bear  is  real 
greatness. 

It  is  refreshing  to  read  the  account  of  some  of 
the  truly  great  men  and  women,  whose  lives  of  use- 


496  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

fulness  have  done  much  for  the  alleviation  of  the 
world's  misery.  And,  after  all,  there  is  no  true  no- 
bility except  as  it  displays  itself  in  good  deeds.  Says 
Matthew  Henry:  "Nothing  can  make  a  man  truly 
great  but  being  truly  good,  and  partaking  of  God's 
holiness."  That  which  constitutes  human  goodness, 
human  greatness,  and  human  nobleness  is  not  the 
degree  of  enlightenment  with  which  men  pursue  their 
own  advantages,  but  it  is  self-forgetfulness,  self-sac- 
rifice, and  the  disregard  of  personal  advantages, 
remote  or  contingent,  because  some  other  line  of 
conduct  is  nearer  right.  The  greatest  man  is  he 
who  chooses  right  with  the  most  invincible  resolu- 
tion ;  who  resists  the  sorest  temptations  from  within 
and  without;  who  bears  the  heaviest  burdens  cheer- 
fully ;  who  is  calmest  in  storms,  and  most  fearless 
under  menaces  and  frowns. 

Some  persons  are  great  only  in  their  ability  to  do 
evil.  Such  appears  to  have  constituted  the  greatness 
of  many  of  those  individuals  who  drenched  the  world 
in  blood  that  their  ambition  might  be  satisfied.  They 
may  possess  the  most  astonishing  mental  qualities, 
yet  may  be  overruled  for  evil  instead  of  good.  Men 
of  the  most  brilliant  qualities  need  only  a  due  admix- 
ture of  pride,  ambition,  and  selfishness  to  be  great 
only  in  evil  ways.  Energy  without  integrity  of  char- 
acter and  a  soul  of  goodness  may  only  represent  the 
embodied  principle  of  evil.  But  when  the  elements 
of  character  are  brought  into  action  by  a  determinate 
will,  and  influenced  by  high  purposes,  man  enters 
upon,  and  courageously  perseveres  in,  the  path  of 


TR  UE  NOBILITY.  497 

duty  at  whatever  cost  of  worldly  interests,  he  may 
be  said  to  approach  the  summit  of  his  being  —  to 
possess  true  nobility  of  character;  he  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  the  highest  idea  of  manliness. 

The  life  of  such  a  man  becomes  repeated  in  the 
life  and  actions  of  others.  He  is  just  and  upright 
in  his  business  dealings,  in  his  public  actions,  and  in 
his  family  life.  He  will  be  honest  in  all  things — in 
his  works  and  in  his  words.  He  will  be  generous 
and  merciful  to  his  opponent  —  to  those  who  are 
weaker  as  well  as  those  stronger  than  himself.  "The 
man  of  noble  spirit  converts  all  occurrences  into  ex- 
perience, between  which  experience  and  his  reason 
there  is  marriage,  and  the  issue  are  his  actions.  He 
moves  by  affection,  not  for  affection ;  he  loves  glory, 
scorns  shame,  and  governeth  and  obeyeth  with  one 
countenance,  for  it  comes  from  one  consideration. 
Knowing  reason  to  be  no  idle  gift  of  nature  he  is 
the  steersman  of  his  own  destiny.  Truth  is  his 
goddess,  and  he  takes  pains  to  get  her,  not  to  look 
like  her.  Unto  the  society  of  men  he  is  a  sun  whose 
clearness  directs  in  a  regular  motion.  He  is  the  wise 
man's  friend,  the  example  of  the  indifferent,  the  med- 
icine of  the  vicious.  Thus  time  goeth  not  from  him, 
but  with  him,  and  he  feels  age  more  by  the  strength 
of  his  soul  than  by  the  weakness  of  his  body.  Thus 
feels  he  no  pain,  but  esteems  all  such  things  as 
friends  that  desire  to  file  off  his  fetters  and  help 
him  out  of  prison." 

True  nobility  of  spirit  is  always  modest  in  expres- 
sion. The  grace  of  an  action  is  gone  as  soon  as  we 


498  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

are  convinced  that  it  was  done  only  that  third  per- 
sons might  applaud  the  act.  But  he  who  is  truly 
great,  and  does  good  because  it  is  his  duty,  is  not  at 
all  anxious  that  others  should  witness  his  acts.  His 
aim  is  to  do  good  because  it  is  right.  His  nobility 
does  not  show  itself  in  waiting  and  watching  for  some 
chance  to  do  a  great  good  at  once.  Greatness  can 
only  be  rightly  estimated  when  minuteness  is  justly 
reverenced.  Greatness  is  the  aggregation  of  minute- 
ness ;  nor  can  its  sublimity  be  felt  truthfully  by  any 
mind  unaccustomed  to  the  watching  of  what  is  least. 
His  nobility  consists  in  being  great  in  little  things. 
All  the  little  details  of  life  are  attended  to,  and  thus 
the  soul  is  prepared  for  great  ones.  There  is  more 
true  nobility  in  duty  faithfully  done  than  in  any  one 
great  act  when  others  are  looking  on  and  signifying 
their  approval,  and  thus  by  their  sympathy  spurring 
the  soul  on  to  greater  exertions. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  a  truly  great  char- 
acter, and  not  think  of  one  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  kindness.  Nobility  of  spirit  will  not  dwell  with 
the  haughty  in  manner.  It  delights  to  take  up  its 
abode  with  the  generous  and  tender-hearted,  those 
who  seek  to  relieve  the  misery  of  others  as  they 
would  their  own.  If  you  contrast  the  career  of  Na- 
poleon Bonaparte  and  Florence  Nightingale,  though 
one  filled  all  Europe  with  the  terror  of  his  name, 
doubt  not  that  in  the  scale  of  moral  greatness  the 
latter  far  outweighs  the  former.  Kindness  is  the 
most  powerful  instrument  in  the  world  to  move  men's 
hearts,  and  a  word  in  kindness  spoken  will  often 


TR  UE  NOBILITY.  499 

do  more  for  the  furtherance  of  your  cause  than  any 
amount  of  angry  reasoning.  Therefore,  it  is  not 
singular  that  one  whose  whole  life  is  spent  in  the 
exercise  of  kindness  should  possess  a  peculiar  power 
over  the  lives  of  others — in  effect,  wield  such  an  in- 
fluence over  them  as  marks  him  as  one  of  the  truly 
great. 

Nobility  of  character  is  also  reverential.  The 
possession  of  this  quality  marks  the  noblest  and 
highest  type  of  manhood  and  womanhood.  Rever- 
ence for  things  consecrated  by  the  homage  of  gener- 
ations, for  high  objects,  pure  thoughts,  and  noble 
aims,  for  the  great  men  of  former  times  and  the 
high-minded  workers  among  our  contemporaries. 
Reverence  is  alike  indispensable  to  the  happiness 
of  individuals,  of  families,  and  of  nations.  Without 
it  there  can  be  no  trust,  no  faith,  no  confidence, 
either  in  God  or  man — neither  social  peace  nor  social 
progress.  Reverence  is  but  another  name  for  love, 
which  binds  men  to  each  other,  and  all  to  God. 

The  rewards  of  a  life  o'f  moral  greatness  rests 
with  posterity.  Great  men  are  like  the  oaks,  under 
the  branches  of  which  men  are  happy  in  finding  a 
refuge  in  times  of  storm  and  rain.  But  when  the 
danger  is  past  they  take  pleasure  in  cutting  the  bark 
and  breaking  the  branches.  As  long  as  human 
nature  is  such  a  mass  of  contradictions  this  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at.  But  the  influence  of  such  men  is 
ever  working,  and  will  sooner  or  later  show  itself. 
Men  such  as  these  are  the  true  life-blood  of  the 
country  to  which  they  belong.  They  elevate  and 


500  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

uphold  it,  fortify  and  ennoble  it,  and  shed  a  glory 
over  it  by  the  example  of  life  and  character  which 
they  have  bequeathed  to  it.  "The  names  and  man- 
ners of  great  men,"  says  an  able  writer,  "  are  the 
dowry  of  a  nation."  Whenever  national  life  begins  tc 
quicken,  the  dead  heroes  rise  in  the  memory  of  men. 
These  men  of  noble  principles  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth.  In  death,  as  well  as  life,  their  example  lives 
in  their  country,  a  stimulus  and  encouragement  to  all 
who  have  the  soul  to  adopt  it. 

Nobility  of  character  is  within  the  reach  of  all. 
It  is  the  result  of  patient  endeavors  after  a  life  of 
goodness,  and,  when  acquired,  can  not  be  swept 
away  unless  by  the  consent  of  its  possessor.  Wealth 
may  be  lost  by  no  fault  of  its  possessor,  but  great- 
ness of  soul  is  an  abiding  quality.  One  may  fail  in 
his  other  aims  ;  the  many  accidents  of  life  may  bring 
to  naught  his  most  patient  endeavors  after  worldly 
fame  or  success  ;  but  he  who  strives  for  nobility  of 
character  will  not  fail  of  reward,  if  he  but  diligently 
seek  the  same  by  earnest  resolve  and  patient  labor. 
Is  there  not  in  this  a  lesson  of  patience  for  many 
who  are  almost  weary  of  striving  for  better  things  ? 
If  success  does  not  crown  their  ambitious  efforts,  will 
they  not  be  sustained  by  the  smile  of  an  approving 
conscience  ?  Strong  in  this,  they  can  wait  with  pa- 
tience till,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  their  reward  cometh. 


A  GOOD  NAME.  501 


"  He  that  filches  from  me  my  good  name 
Robs  me  of  that  which  ne'er  enriches  him, 

And  makes  me  poor  indeed." 

SHAKESPEARE. 

|  GOOD  name  is  the  richest  possession  we  havts 
2J|S?  while  living,  and  the  best  legacy  we  leave  be- 
¥'•  hind  us  when  dead.  It  survives  when  we  are 
no  more  ;  it  endures  when  our  bodies  and  the 
marbles  which  cover  them  have  crumbled  into  dast. 
How  can  we  obtain  it  ?  What  means  will  secure  it 
to  us  with  the  free  consent  of  mankind  and  the  ac- 
knowledged suffrages  of  the  world?  It  is  won  by 
virtue,  by  skill,  by  industry,  by  patience  and  perse- 
verance, and  by  humble  and  consistent  trust  and 
confidence  in  a  high  and  overruling  power.  It  is 
lost  by  folly,  by  ignorance,  by  ignominy  and  crime, 
by  excessive  ambition  and  avarice. 

That  good  name,  which  is  to  be  chosen  rather 
than  great  riches,  does  not  depend  on  the  variable 
end  shifting  wind  of  popular  opinion.  It  is  based  on 
permanent  excellence,  and  is  as  immutable  as  virtue 
and  truth.  It  consists  in  a  fair  and  unsullied  reputa- 
tion— ;\  reputation  formed  under  the  influence  of  vir- 
tuous principles,  and  awarded  to  us,  not  by  the 
ignorant  and  the  vicious,  but  by  the  intelligent  and 
the  good. 

In  such  a  name  we  look  first  of  all  for  integrity, 
or  an  unbending  regard  to  rectitude;  we  look  for 


502  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

independence,  or  a  determination  to  be  governed  by 
an  enlightened  consideration  of  truth  and  duty  ;  for 
benevolence  or  a  spirit  of  kindness  and  good-will 
toward  men ;  and,  finally,  for  a  reverent  regard  for 
all  moral  qualities.  These  are  the  essential  proper 
ties  of  a  good  character,  the  living,  breathing  linea 
ments  of  that  good  name  which  commends  itself  to 
the  careful  consideration  of  the  truly  good  every-where. 
It  is  ever  to  be  kept  in  mind  that  a  good  name  is 
in  all  cases  the  fruit  of  personal  exertions.  It  is  not 
inherited  from  parents;  it  is  not  created  by  external 
advantages.  It  is  no  necessary  appendage  of  birth 
or  wealth  or  talents  or  station,  but  the  result  of  one's 
own  endeavors,  the  fruit  and  reward  of  good  princi- 
ples manifested -in  a  course  of  virtuous  and  honorable 
actions.  Hence  the  attainment  of  a  good  name, 
however  humble  the  station,  is  within  the  reach  of 
all.  No  young  man  is  excluded  from  this  invaluable 
boon.  He  has  only  to  fix  his  eye  on  the  prize,  and 
to  press  toward  it  in  a  course  of  virtuous  and  useful 
conduct,  and  it  is  his.  It  may  be  said  that  in  the 
formation  of  a  good  name  personal  exertion  is  the  first, 
the  second,  and  the  last  virtue.  Nothing  great  or 
excellent  can  be  acquired  without  it.  All  the  virtues 
of  which  it  is  composed  are  the  result  of  untiring 
application  and  industry.  Nothing  can  be  more  fatal 
to  the  attainment  of  a  good  character  than  a  confi- 
dence in  external  advantages.  These,  if  not  seconded 
by  your  own  endeavors,  will  drop  you  midway,  or 
perhaps  you  will  not  have  started  when  the  diligent 
traveler  will  have  won  the  race. 


A  GOOD  NAME.  503 

Life  will  inevitably  take  much  of  its  shape  and 
coloring  from  the  plastic  powers  that  operate  in 
youth.  Much  will  depend  on  taking  a  proper  course 
at  the  outset  of  life.  The  principles  then  adopted 
and  the  habits  then  formed,  whether  good  or  bad, 
become  a  kind  of  second  nature,  fixed  and  perma- 
nent. The  most  critical  period  of  life  is  that  which 
elapses  from  fourteen  to  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
More  is  done  during  this  period  to  mold  and  settle 
the  character  of  the  future  man  than  in  all  the  other 
years  of  life.  If  a  young  man  passes  this  period 
with  pure  morals  and  a  fair  reputation,  a  good  name 
is  almost  sure  to  crown  his  years  and  to  .descend 
with  him  to  the  close  of  his  days.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  a  young  man  in  the  Spring  season  of  life 
neglects  his  mind  and  heart,  if  he  indulges  himself 
in  vicious  courses,  and  forms  habits  of  inefficiency  and 
slothfulness,  he  inflicts  an  injury  on  his  good  name 
which  time  will  not  efface,  and  brings  a  stain  upon 
his  character  which  no  tears  can  wash  away. 

The  two  most  precious  things  this  side  the  grave 
are  our  reputation  and  our  life.  But  it  is  to  be 
lamented  that  the  most  contemptible  whisper  may 
deprive  us  of  the  one  and  the  weakest  weapon  of 
the  other.  A  wise  man,  therefore,  will  be  more 
anxious  to  deserve  a  fair  reputation  than  to  possess 
it ;  and  this  will  teach  him  so  to  live  as  not  to  be 
afraid  to  die.  A  fair  reputation,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, is  a  plant  delicate  in  its  growth.  It  will  not 
shoot  up  in  a  night,  like  the  gourd  that  sheltered  the 
prophet's  head ;  but,  like  that  gourd,  it  may  perish 


50-1  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE- 

in  a  night.  A  name  which  it  has  cost  many  years  to 
establish  is  often  destroyed  in  a  single  hour.  A  good 
name,  like  good-will,  is  gained  by  many  actions,  but 
lost  by  one. 

One  of  the  most  essential  elements  of  a  goocT 
name  is  the  possession  of  good  moral  principles. 
Such  principles  fill  the  soul  with  the  noblest  views 
and  the  purest  sentiments,  and  direct  all  the  ener- 
gies, desires,  and  purposes  to  their  proper  use  and 
end.  Such  principles  impart  new  light  and  vigor  to 
the  mind,  and  secure  to  its  possessor  a  safe  passage 
through  all  the  temptations  of  the  world  to  the  abodes 
of  eternal  purity  and  blessedness.  A  character  with- 
out fixed  moral  principles  has  impressed  on  it  the 
deformity  of  a  great  and  palpable  defect.  Whatever 
virtues  it  does  not  possess  are  like  flowers  planted  in 
the  snow  or  withered  by  the  drought — wanting  the 
life  vigor  and  beauty  which  principles  alone  can  im- 
part. Lacking  such  principles  one  would  in  vain  seek 
to  acquire  a  good  name.  As  well  expect  a  vessel  to 
traverse  broad  oceans  to  a  destined  harbor  with  no 
rudder  whereby  to  control  its  course. 

Though  a  good  name  is  won  only  by  a  life  of 
constant  activity  and  exertion,  by  self-denial,  and  an 
outflow  of  charity,  yet  its  rewards  are  great  and 
.enduring,  and  to  fail  of  its  possession  is  to  be  with- 
out the  best  thing  on  earth.  Without  it  gold  has  no 
value,  birth  no  distinction,  station  no  dignity,  beauty 
no  charms,  age  no  reverence.  Without  it  every 
treasure  impoverishes,  every  grace  deforms,  every 
dignity  degrades,  and  all  the  arts,  the  decorations, 


A  GOOD  NAME.  505 

/in^  o.ccomplishments  of  life  stand  like  the  beacon 
blaze  upon  a  rock,  warning-  that  its  approach  is  dan- 
gerous, that  its  contact  is  death.  He  who  has  it 
not  is  under  eternal  quarantine — no  friend  to  greet 
him,  no  home  to  harbor  him.  And  in  the  midst  of 
all  that  ambition  can  achieve,  or  avarice  amass,  or 
rapacity  plunder,  he  feels  himself  alone,  destitute  of 
the  sympathy  of  others. 

A  good  character  is  a  sure  protection  against 
suspicion  and  evil  reports.  A  man  of  bad  or  doubt- 
ful character  is  suspected  of  a  thousand  acts  of  which 
he  may  not  be  guilty.  And  if  he  does  a  good  deed 
it  is  apt  to  be  ascribed  to  a  bad  motive.  He  has 
lost  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-men.  They  know 
him  to  be  unprincipled  and  hollow-hearted,  and  are 
therefore  ready  to  believe  all  the  evil  that  is  thought 
or  said  of  him,  but  none  of  the  good.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  man  of  fair  character,  of  tried  and  established 
reputation,  stands  out  to  the  eyes  of  the  public  as 
one  who  is  above  suspicion,  and  above  reproach. 
The  envious  may  attempt  to  tarnish  his  fair  name, 
but  their  efforts  recoil  upon  their  own  heads.  He  is 
conscious  of  acting  from  correct  principles,  and  being 
known  to  the  public  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  worth 
he  need  never  give  himself  much  concern  as  to  any 
unfavorable  reports,  that  may  be  circulated  respecting 
him.  They  acquit  him  without  trial,  and  believe  his 
innocence  without  the  judgment  of  a  court.  Slander 
may,  indeed,  for  a  moment,  fix  its  fangs  on  a  spot- 
less character,  but  such  a  character  has  within  it- 
self an  antidote  to  the  poison,  and  emerges  from 


506  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

the  temporary  shadow  with  invigorated  strength  and 
heightened  beauty. 

While  a  good  name  will  secure  for  you  the  esteem 
and  confidence  of  your  fellow-men,  how  will  it  increase 
your  capacity  and  extend  the  sphere  of  your  useful 
ness  !  Who  are  the  men  whose  friendship  is  most 
highly  valued,  whose  opinions  have  greatest  weight, 
whose  patronage  is  most  eagerly  sought,  and  whose 
influence  is  most  extensively  sought  in  the  country? 
Are  they  not  men  of  principle — men  of  known  worth 
and  established  reputation?  A  good  name  draws 
round  its  possessor  warm  friends,  and  opens  for  him  a 
sure  and  easy  way  to  wealth,  to  honor,  and  happiness. 
Reverse  the  picture,  and  think  of  the  direful  evils  of 
a  ruined  character.  It  will  expose  you  to  a  thousand 
painful  suspicions  and  blasting  reports ;  it  will  deprive 
you  of  all  self-respect  and  peace  of  mind ;  it  will  ex- 
clude you  from  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  your 
fellow-men,  and  bring  upon  you  their  neglect  and 
contempt;  it  will  cut  you  off  from  all  means  of  use- 
fulness, and  degrade  you  to  a  mere  cipher  in  society, 
rendering  your  ultimate  success  impossible. 

A  good  name  is  thus  a  protection  against  suspi- 
cion and  evil  reports  ;  it  is  the  source  of  the  purest 
and  most  lasting  enjoyment;  it  secures  for  us  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  our  fellow-men ;  it  increases 
the  power  and  enlarges  the  sphere  of  our  usefulness  ; 
it  has  the  most  direct  and  happy  bearing  on  our  suc- 
cess in  life ;  it  stands  connected  with  the  happiness  of 
our  families  and  friends,  with  the  welfare  of  society, 
with  the  temporal  and  eternal  happiness  of  thousands. 


MEDITATION.  507 


"EDITATION  is  the  soul's  perspective  glass, 
whereby,  in  her  long  removes,  she  discerns 
God  as  if  he  were  near  at  hand.  It  is  think- 
ing, not  growth,  that  makes  the  perfect  man 
or  woman.  Hence  life  may  be  said  to  have  com- 
menced when  the  mind  learns  to  meditate  upon  its 
nature,  its  powers,  and  its  possibilities.  This  is  the 
commencement  of  true  soul-growth.  To  live  without 
thought  is  not  life ;  it  is  simple,  barren  existence. 
There  is  in  youth  a  natural  impulsiveness  which  is 
highly  detrimental  to  their  best  interests.  In  itself 
this  is  not  wrong ;  but  personal  usefulness  depends 
upon  its  being  controlled  and  brought  into  subjection 
to  the  judgment. 

The  first  and  hardest  lesson  of  life  to  learn  is  to 
subdue  and  chasten  the  inborn  impulses  of  the  soul. 
His  soaring  ambition,  his  reckless  hopes,  his  daring 
courage  must  be  held  in  check  by  the  rein  of  sober 
sense.  The  curb  and  bit  must  be  put  on  and  drawn 
tightly,  and  this  must  be  done  by  his  own  hand.  In 
his  hours  of  meditation  he  must  form  his  plans,  lay 
out  his  work,  breathe  his  prayer  for  victory,  and 
swear  eternal  fealty  to  his  purpose  of  right.  In  the 
still  chambers  of  thought  he  must  rally  his  moral 
forces,  pledge  them  to  duty,  and  call  aid  from  above 
in  his  solemn  work.  Others  may  assist  him  by  en- 
couragement, by  advice  and  solemn  warning ;  but  the 


508  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

work  is  his  own.  If  he  has  learned  to  think,  he  has 
within  an  element  of  safety  found  nowhere  else. 

What  can  be  more  distasteful  than  the  actions 
of  impulsive  people?  To-day  they  are  borne  on  the 
gale?  of  the  wildest  pleasure — they  are  more  giddy 
than  the  feather  tossed  in  the  breeze  ;  to-morrow,  in 
darkness  of  spirit,  despairing  and  wretched,  because 
their  hot-brained  fancies  failed  to  give  them  peace 
and  joy.  To-day  they  thoughtlessly  act  as  their  im- 
pulses lead  them  ;  to-morrow  they  are  full  of  regrets 
about  the  mistakes  and  blunders  of  yesterday.  They 
give  full  vent  to  whatever  impulsive  feeling  happens 
to  come  uppermost,  changing  more  often  than  the 
wind,  and  reflecting  as  little  upon  their  variations. 
It  is  the  office  of  meditation  to  train  and  subdue 
these  impulses. 

The  fault  is  not  in  the  joyousness  of  spirit  which 
accompanies  youthful  action,  but  in  the  impulsiveness 
with  which  they  are  indulged.  The  feelings  come 
forth  as  masters,  whereas  they  should  be  servants, 
subdued,  but  joyous.  They  should  be  submissive 
and  obedient  children  of  the  will,  doing  its  dictates 
with  alacrity  and  power.  They  should  make  the 
intellect  more  active,  the  affections  more  warm  and 
deep,  and  the  moral  sense  more  varied  and  strong. 
The  fruit  of  meditation  is  propriety  of  action.  There 
is  a  simple  and  beautiful  propriety,  pleasing  to  all, 
which  gives  grace  to  the  manners  and  loveliness  to 
the  whole  being,  which  all  should  strive  to  possess. 
It  is  neither  too  grave  nor  too  gay,  too  gleesome  nor 
too  sad,  nor  either  of  these  at  improper  places.  It 


MEDITATION.  509 

1^  to  be  mirthful  without  being  silly,  joyous  without 
being  foolish,  sober  without  being  despondent,  to 
speak  plainly  without  giving  offense,  grave  without 
casting  a  shadow  over  others. 

Meditation  should  sit  on  the  throne  of  the  mind 
as  the  counselor  of  the  mental  powers  ;  and  thus,  by 
early  habits  of  obedience,  even  the  passions  will  be- 
come powers  of  noble  import,  contributing  an  energy 
and  determination  that  will  wrest  victory  out  of  every 
conflict  and  success  out  of  every  struggle.  To  secure 
this  blessing,  one  must  early  learn  to  hold  counsel 
within  himself  over  every  desire  and  impulse  that 
rises  within  him,  over  every  action  of  the  soul,  and 
see  that  at  all  times  obedience  is  yielded  to  the  dic- 
tates of  this  counsel.  To  be  successful  in  this  he 
must  be  always  watchful,  always  guarded,  always 
striving  for  the  more  perfect  attainment  of  the  great 
object  before  him. 

He  who  can  not  command  his  thoughts  must  not 
hope  to  control  his  actions.  All  mental  superiority 
originates  in  habits  of  thought.  Take  away  thought 
from  the  life  of  a  man  and  what  remains  ?  You  may 
glean  knowledge  by  reading,  but  you  must  separate 
the  chaff  from  the  wheat  by  thinking.  The  value  of 
our  thoughts  depend  much  upon  the  course  they  take, 
whether  the  subject  in  hand  be  examined  fully  and 
carefully,  or  only  given  an  undecided  glance,  whence 
our  thoughts  revert  to  other  matters  to  be  treated  in 
the  same  desultory  way.  Many  minds  from  want  of 
training  can  not  rea]lv  think.  It  is  of  great  impor- 
tance that  right  habits  of  thought  be  formed  and 


510  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

fostered  in  early  life.  A  person  may  see,  hear,  read, 
and  learn  whatever  he  pleases ;  but  he  will  know  very 
little  beyond  that  which  he  has  thought  over  and 
made  the  property  of  his  mind. 

Become  master  of  your  thoughts  so  that  you  can 
command  them  at  your  pleasure.  Whenever  you 
read  have  your  thoughts  about  you.  Make  careful 
observations  as  you  pass  along,  and  select  subjects 
upon  which  your  thoughts  shall  dwell  when  your 
book  shall  have  been  laid  aside.  He  who  reads 
only  for  present  gratification,  and  neglects  to  digest 
what  he  reads,  nor  calls  it  up  for  future  contempla- 
tion, will  not  be  likely  to  ever  know  the  extent  of 
his  own  powers,  for  the  best  test  calculated  to  make 
them  known  will  remain  unemployed.  Consider  the 
great  field  which  is  open  before  you.  Into  which- 
ever department  you  take  your  way,  you  will  be 
amazed  at  the  magnitude  and  grandeur  of  the  objects 
by  which  you  are  surrounded,  and  your  mind  will  be 
filled  with  the  most  exalted  conceptions  of  the  good- 
ness, wisdom,  and  power  of  the  Creator. 

We  can  not  guard  too  much  against  indulgence 
in  thoughts,  which,  trivial  as  they  may  at  first  appear, 
would  give  a  cast  to  our  whole  character  should  they 
become  settled  habits.  Impure  thoughts  are  seeds 
of  sin.  If  dropped  into  the  soil  of  the  mind,  they 
should  be  cast  out  immediately  ;  otherwise  they  will 
germinate,  spring  up,  and  bear  fruits  of  sinful  words 
and  acts.  Few  consider  the  power  and  magnitude 
of  thought.  Man  is  not  as  he  seems,  nor  as  he  acts, 
but  as  he  thinks.  It  is  the  thoughts  of  a  man,  and 


MEDITATION.  511 

not  his  deeds,  that  are  the  true  exponent  of  his  char- 
acter. Deeds  make  reputation,  thought  makes  char- 
acter. Deeds  are  the  paper  currency  of  thought 
stamped  in  the  mint  of  purity.  Thoughts  surpass 
deeds  in  power  and  grandeur  in  the  same  ratio  as 
character  surpasses  reputation. 

Many  lives  are  wrecked  through  thoughtlessness 
alone.  If  you  find  yourself  in  low  company  do  not 
sit  carelessly  by  till  you  are  gradually  drawn  into  the 
whirlpool,  but  think  of  the  consequences  of  such  a 
course.  Rational  thought  will  lead  you  to  seek  the  so- 
ciety of  your  superiors,  and  you  must  improve  by  the 
association.  A  benevolent  use  of  your  example  and 
influence  for  the  elevation  of  the  fallen  is  a  noble 
thing.  Even  the  most  depraved  are  not  beyond  such 
help.  But  the  young  man  of  impressible  character 
must  at  least  think  and  beware  lest  he  fall  himself  a 
victim.  Think  before  you  touch  the  wine  cup.  Re- 
member its  effects  upon  thousands,  and  know  that 
you  are  no  stronger  than  they  were  in  their  youth. 
Think  before  you  allow  angry  passions  to  overcome 
your  reason.  It  is  thus  that  murder  is  wrought. 
Think  before,  in  a  dark  hour  of  temptation,  you 
allow  yourself  to  drift  into  crime.  Think  well  ere  a 
lie  or  an  oath  passes  your  lips,  for  a  man  of  pure 
speech  only  can  merit  respect.  Think  of  things  pure 
and  lovely  and  of  good  report;  think  of  God  and  of 
heaven,  of  life  and  duty,  and  your  thoughts  being 
thus  elevating  and  inspiring,  your  life  will  be  full  of 
good  deeds  and  pleasant  memories. 


512  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


principles  are  the  springs  of  our  actions ; 
our  actions,  the  springs  of  our  happiness  or 
misery.  Too  much  care,  therefore,  can  not  be 
taken  in  forming  our  principles.  Men  of  gen- 
uine excellence  in  every  station  of  life — men  of 
industry,  of  integrity,  of  high  principles,  of  sterling 
honesty  of  purpose — command  the  spontaneous  hom- 
age of  mankind.  It  is  natural  to  believe  in  such 
men,  to  have  confidence  in  them,  and  to  imitate 
them.  All  that  is  good  in  the  world  is  upheld  by 
them,  and  without  their  presence  in  it,  the  world 
would  scarcely  be  worth  the  living  in. 

That  young  man  is  sure  to  become  a  worthless 
character  and  a  pernicious  member  of  society,  who 
is  loose  in  his  principles  and  habits,  who  lives  without 
plan  and  without  object,  spending  his  time  in  idleness 
and  pleasure.  He  forgets  his  high  destination  as  a 
rational,  immortal  being;  he  degrades  himself  to  a 
level  with  the  brute,  and  is  not  only  disqualified  for 
all  the  serious  duties  of  life,  but  proves  himself  a 
nuisance  and  a  curse  to  all  with  whom  he  is  con- 
nected. Every  unprincipled  man  is  an  enemy  to  so- 
ciety, and  richly  merits  its  condemnation.  They  are 
not  respected,  they  are  not  patronized ;  confidence 
and  support  are  withheld  from  them,  and  they  are 
left,  neglected  and  despised,  to  float  down  the  stream 
of  life. 

No  young  man  can  hope  to  rise  in  society,  or  act 


PRINCIPLES.  51 3 

worthily  his  part  in  life,  without  a  fair  moral  char- 
acter. The  basis  of  such  a  character  is  virtuous 
principles,  or  a  deep,  fixed  sense  of  moral  obligation. 
The  man  who  possesses  such  character  can  be 
trusted.  Integrity  and  justice  are  to  him  words  of 
meaning,  and  he  aims  to  exemplify  the  virtues  they 
express  in  his  outward  life.  Such  a  man  has  decision 
of  character ;  he  knows  what  is  right,  and  is  firm  in 
doing  it.  He  has  independence  of  character ;  he 
thinks  and  acts  for  himself,  and  is  not  to  be  made  a 
tool  to  serve  the  purpose  of  party.  He  has  consist- 
ency of  purpose,  pursuing  a  straightforward  course  ; 
and  what  he  is  to-day  he  will  be  to-morrow.  Such  a 
man  has  true  worth  of  character,  and  his  life  is  a 
blessing  to  himself,  to  his  family,  to  society,  and  to 
the  world.  To  have  a  character  founded  on  good 
principles  is  the  first  and  indispensable  qualification 
of  a  good  citizen.  It  imparts  life  and  strength  and 
beauty  not  only  to  individual  character,  but  to  all 
social  institutions.  It  is,  indeed,  the  dew  and  the 
rain  that  nourish  the  vine  and  the  fig-tree  by  which 
we  are  shaded  and  refreshed. 

Deportment,  honesty,  caution,  and  a  desire  to  do 
right,  carried  out  in  practice,  are  to  human  character 
what  truth,  reverence,  and  love  are  to  religion.  They 
are  the  constant  elements  of  a  good  character.  Let 
the  vulgar  and  the  degraded  scoff  at  such  virtues 
if  they  will,  a  strict,  upright,  onward  course  will 
evince  to  the  world  that  there  is  more  manly  inde- 
pendence in  one  forgiving  smile  than  in  all  their  ficti- 
tious rules  of  honor.  Virtue  must  have  its  admirers, 
33 


514  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  firmness  of  principle,  both  moral  and  religious, 
will  ever  command  the  proudest  encomiums  of  the 
intelligent  world.  The  auspicious  bearing  of  such 
principles  on  the  formation  of  your  character  and  on 
your  best  interests  can  not  be  too  highly  estimated. 
These  are  the  mainspring  of  purpose  and  action. 
Their  formation  can  not  be  begun  too  early  "in  life, 
since  they  will  remain  with  you  as  long  as  you  live, 
and  exert  a  decisive  influence  on  your  condition  of 
success  or  failure. 

There  is  no  brighter  jewel  in  any  young  man's 
character  than  to  be  firmly  established  on  principles 
of  unyielding  rectitude.  They  change  not  with  times 
and  circumstances.  They  are  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever.  They  extend  their  sway  to  all 
beings  and  to  all  classes,  to  the  man  of  learning  and 
the  ignorant  peasant,  to  the  beggar  and  the  prince ; 
they  are  the  bond  of  union  and  the  source  of  blessed- 
ness to  all  subjects  of  God's  empire.  It  is  always 
easy  to  know  what  is  right,  but  often  difficult  to 
decide  what  is  best  for  our  present  interests  or  pop- 
ularity. He  who  acts  from  false  principles  is  often 
perplexed  in  deciding  on  any  plan  of  action.  He 
knows  not  what  course  to  pursue,  or  how  to  avoid 
the  difficulties  that  are  ever  thickening  around  him. 
His  way  is  dark  and  crooked,  and  full  of  snares  and 
pitfalls.  But  the  way  is  light  as  day  to  him  whose 
ruling  principle  is  duty.  He  is  not  perplexed  as  to 
questions  of  interest  or  popularity. 

Such  a  man,  whether  rich  or  poor,  has  those  solid 
and  excellent  traits  of  character  which  are  certain  to 


PRINCIPLES.  515 

secure  for  him  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all  good 
men ;  and  even  those  who  are  too  weak  to  imitate  his 
virtues  are  obliged  to  yield  to  him  the  secret  homage 
of  their  respect.  But  the  greatest  boon  of  all  is  the 
self-respect  he  thus  secures.  He  is  not  degraded  in 
nis  own  eyes  by  acting  from  unworthy  and  criminal 
motives.  And  it  is  only  when  once  lost  that  you  fully 
realize  how  valuable  is  this  boon  of  self-respect.  It 
is  the  fruit  of  exertion  in  right  ways. 

There  are  false  principles,  to  embrace  which  is 
certain  defeat  to  hopes  of  future  usefulness.  There 
are  some  who  make  pleasure  the  aim  of  their  lives, 
and  who  seem  to  live  only  for  their  own  enjoyment. 
Man  was  made  for  action,  for  duty,  and  usefulness; 
and  it  is  on!y  when  he  lives  in  accordance  with  this 
great  design  of  his  being  that  he  attains  his  highest 
dignity  and  truest  happiness.  To  make  pleasure  his 
ultimate  aim  is  certainly  to  fail  of  it.  No  matter 
what  a  young  man's  situation  and  prospects  are — no 
matter  if  he  is  perfectly  independent  in  his  circum- 
stances and  heir  to  millions — he  will  certainly  be- 
come a  worthless  character  if  he  does  not  aim  at 
something  higher  than  his  own  selfish  enjoyment.  A 
life  thus  spent  is  a  life  lost.  It  is  utterly  inconsistent 
with  all  manliness  of  thought  and  action.  It  forms 
a  character  of  effeminacy  and  feebleness,  and  entails 
on  its  possessor,  not  only  the  contempt  of  all  worthy 
and  good  men,  but  embitters  the  decline  of  life  with 
shame  and  self-reproach. 

Another  principle  of  evil  import  is  the  love  of 
money,  which  exerts  a  mighty  and  powerful  influence 


516  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

over  the  children  of  men.  When  once  the  love  of 
money  becomes  in  any  man  a  dominant  principle  of 
action  there  is  an  end  of- all  hope  of  his  ever  attain- 
ing the  true  excellence  of  an  intelligent  moral  being. 
Money  is  the  supreme  and  governing  motive  of  hif 
conduct,  and,  where  this  is  the  case,  it  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  a  man  will  be  very  scrupulous  as  to 
the  means  of  obtaining  it.  Put  a  piece  of  gold  too 
close  to  the  eye  and  it  is  large  enough  to  blind  you 
to  home,  to  love,  to  death,  and  to  heaven  itself. 


"There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
Which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune; 
Omitted,  all  the  voyage  of  their  life 

Is  bound  in  shallows  and  in  miseries." 

— SHAKESPEARE. 

|ANY  fail  in  life  from  the  want,  as  they  are  too 
ready  to  suppose,  of  those  great  occasions 
wherein  they  might  have  shown  their  trust- 
worthiness and  their  integrity.  But  in  order 
to  find  whether  a  vessel  be  leaky  we  first  prove  it 
with  water  before  we  trust  it  with  wine.  The  more 
minute  and  trivial  opportunities  of  being  just  and 
upright  are  constantly  occurring  to  every  one.  It  is 
the  proper  employment  of  these  smaller  opportunities 
that  occasion  the  great  ones.  It  is  one  of  the  com 
mon  mistakes  of  life,  and  one  of  the  most  radical 


OPPORTUNITY.  517 

sources  of  evil,  to  wait  for  opportunities.  Many  per- 
sons are  looking  for  some  marked  event  or  some 
grand  opening  through  which  they  hope  to  develop 
what  may  be  in  them,  and  thus  make  potent  a  char- 
acter which  now,  for  lack  of  motives,  is  barren  and 
unfruitful. 

The  real  materials  out  of  which  our  characters  are 
forming  are  the  hourly  occurrences  of  every-day  life. 
Every  claim  of  duty,  the  employment  of  each  minute, 
the  daily  vexations  or  trials  we  are  called  upon  to 
bear,  the  momentary  decisions  that  must  be  made, 
the  casual  interview,  the  contact  with  sin  or  sorrow 
in  every-day  dress — all,  these  and  many  others  as 
small  and  as  constant,  are  the  real  opportunities  of 
life.  These  we  are  continually  embracing  or  neg- 
lecting, and  out  of  them  we  are  forming  a  character 
that  is  fast  consolidating  into  the  shape  we  gave  it 
for  good  or  for  evil.  If  we  watch  through  a  single 
day  we  shall  doubtless  discover  hundreds  of  oppor- 
tunities of  both  doing  and  receiving  good  that  we 
have,  perhaps,  hitherto  passed  by  with  indifference, 
and  by  diligent  assiduity  in  seeking  for  and  embrac- 
ing these  we  shall  be  prepared  to  encounter  the 
fiercer  storms  of  life  that  may  await  us,  or  to  take 
advantage  of  future  opportunities  that  may  offer  for 
our  good. 

A  man's  opportunity  usually  has  some  relation  to 
his  ability.  It  is  an  opening  for  a  man  of  his  talents 
and  means.  It  is  an  opening  for  him  to  use  what  he 
has  faithfully  and  to  the  utmost.  It  requires  toil, 
self-denial,  faith.  If  he  says,  "I  want  a  better 


518  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

opportunity  than  that ;  I  am  worthy  of  a  higher 
position  than  that,"  or  if  he  thinks  the  opportunity 
too  insignificant  to  be  embraced,  he  is  very  likely  in 
after  years  to  see  the  folly  of  his  course.  There  are 
scores  of  young  men  all  over  the  land  who  want  tc 
acquire  wealth,  and  yet  every  day  scorn  such  oppor- 
tunities as  our  really  rich  men  would  have  improved. 
They  want  to  begin,  not  as  others  do,  at  the  foot  of 
the  ladder,  but  half  way  up.  They  want  somebody 
to  give  them  a  lift  or  to  carry  them  up  in  a  balloon, 
so  that  they  can  avoid  the  early  and  arduous  strug- 
gles of  the  majority  of  those  who  have  been  suc- 
cessful. 

The  most  unsuccessful  men  are  usually  the  ones 
who  think  they  could  do  great  things  if  they  only 
had  the  opportunity.  But  something  has  always 
prevented  them.  Providence  has  hedged  them  in  so 
that  they  could  not  carry  out  their  plan.  They 
knew  just  how  to  get  rich,  but  they  lacked  oppor- 
tunity. A  man  can  not  expect  that  great  opportuni- 
ties will  meet  him  all  along  through  his  life  like 
milestones  by  the  wayside.  Usually  he  has  one  or 
two;  if  he  neglects  them  he  is  like  the  man  who 
takes  the  wrong  course  where  several  meet.  The 
farther  he  goes  the  worse  he  fares.  In  the  life  of 
the  most  unlucky  persons  there  are  always  some 
occasions  when  by  prompt  and  vigorous  action  he 
may  win  the  thing  he  has  at  heart.  "There  is  no- 
body," says  a  Roman  cardinal,  "whom  fortune  does 
not  visit  once  in  his  life.  But  when  she  finds  he  is 
not  ready  to  receive  her,  she  goes  in  at  the  door  and 


OPPORTUNITY.  519 

out  through  the  window."     Opportunity  is  coy.    The 
careless,  the  slow,  the  unobservant,  the  lazy  fail  to 
see  her,  or  clutch  at  her  when  she  has  gone.     The 
sharp  fellows  detect  her  instantly,  and  seize  her  on      ' 
the  wing. 

It  is  ofttimes  not  sufficient  to  wait  for  opportunity, 
even  though  improved  when  it  has  come.  We  must 
not  only  strike  the  iron  while  it  is  hot,  but  make  it 
hot  by  striking.  In  other  words,  if  opportunity  does 
not  present  herself  we  must  try  our  best  to  compel 
her  attendance.  Opportunity  is  in  respect  to  time  in 
some  sense  as  time  is  in  respect  to  eternity ;  it  is  the 
small  moment,  the  exact  point,  the  critical  minute  on 
which  every  good  work  so  much  depends.  Hesita- 
tion is  in  some  instances  a  sign  of  weakness,  and  an 
exhibition  of  caution  instead  of  an  aid  is  a  hinderance. 
At  the  critical  moment  there  is  no  time  for  over- 
sqeamishness ;  else  the  opportunity  slips  away  be- 
yond recall,  even  as  the  spoken  word  or  the  sped 
arrow.  The  period  of  life  during  which  a  man  must 
venture,  if  ever,  is  so  limited  that  it  is  no  bad  rule 
to  preach  up  the  necessity  in  such  instances  of  a 
little  violence  done  to  the  feelings,  and  of  efforts 
made  in  defiance  of  strict  and  sober  calculation, 
rather  than  to  pass  one  opportunity  after  another. 
It  is  not  accident  that  helps  a  man  in  the  world,  but 
purpose  and  persistent  industry.  These  make  a  man 
sharp  to  discover  opportunities  and  to  turn  them  to 
account.  To  the  feeble,  the  sluggish  and  purpose- 
less the  happiest  opportunities  avail  nothing.  They 
pass  them  by,  seeing  no  meaning  in  them.  But  to 


520  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

the  energetic,  wide-awake  man  they  are  occasions  of 
great  moment,  the  improvement  of  which  contribute 
in  no  small  degree  to  his  ultimate  success. 


"I  slept,  and  dreamed  that  life  was  beauty; 
I  woke,  and  found  that  life  was  duty." 

;,UTY  rounds  out  the  whole  of  life,  from  our  en- 
trance into  it  until  our  exit  from  it.  There  is 
the  duty  to  superiors,  to  inferiors,  to  equals,  to 
God  and  to  man.  Wherever  there  is  power  to 
use  or  to  direct,  there  is  a  duty  devolving  upon  us. 
Duty  is  a  thing  that  is  due  and  must  be  paid  by 
every  man  who  would  avoid  present  discredit,  and 
eventual  moral  insolvency.  It  is  an  obligation,  a 
debt,  which  can  only  be  discharged  by  voluntary 
effort  and  resolute  action  in  the  affairs  of  life.  The 
abiding  sense  of  duty  is  the  very  crown  of  character. 
It  is  the  upholding  law  of  man  in  his  highest  atti- 
tudes. Without  it  the  individual  totters  and  falls 
before  the  first  puff  of  adversity  or  temptation  ; 
whereas,  inspired  by  it,  the  weakest  become  strong 
and  full  of  courage. 

"Duty,"  says  Mrs.  Jameson,  "is  the  cement  which 
binds  the  whole  moral  edifice  together,  without  which 
all  power,  goodness,  intellect,  truth,  happiness,  love 
itself,  can  have  no  permanence,  but  all  the  fabric  of 


DUTY.  521 

existence  crumble  away  from  under  us,  and  leave  us 
at  last  sitting"  in  the  midst  of  a  ruin,  astonished  at 
our  own  desolation."  Take  man  from  the  lowest 
depths  of  poverty  or  from  the  downy  beds  of  wealth, 
and  you  will  find  that  to  act  well  his  part  in  life  he 
must  recognize  and  live  up  to  the  rule  of  duty.  As 
the  ship  is  safely  guided  across  the  ocean  by  a  helm, 
so  on  the  ocean  of  existence  duty  is  the  helm,  with- 
out which  life  is  lost.  It  is  the  lesson  of  history,  no 
less  than  the  experience  of  the  present  age,  that  an 
attention  to  duty  in  all  of  its  details  is  the  only  sure 
road  to  real  greatness,  whether  individual  or  national. 
Duty  is  based  upon  a  sense  of  justice — -justice 
inspired  by  love — which  is  the  most  perfect  form  of 
goodness.  Duty  is  not  a  sentiment,  but  a  principle 
pervading  the  life,  and  it  exhibits  itself  in  conduct 
and  in  action.  Duty  is  above  all  consequences,  and 
often,  at  a  crisis  of  difficulty,  commands  us  to  throw 
them  overboard.  It  commands  us  to  look  neither  to 
the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but  straight  forward. 
Every  signal  act  of  duty  is  an  act  of  faith.  It  is 
performed  in  the  assurance  that  God  will  take  care 
of  the  consequences,  and  will  so  order  the  course 
of"  the  world  that,  whatever  the  immediate  results 
may  be,  his  word  shall  not  return  to  him  empty.  The 
voice  of  conscience  speaks  in  duty  done,  and  without 
its  regulating  and  controlling  influence  the  brightest 
and  greatest  intellect  may  be  merely  as  a  light  that 
leads  astray.  Conscience  sets  a  man  upon  his  feet, 
while  his  will  holds  him  upright.  Conscience  is  the 
moral  governor  of  the  heart,  and  only  through  its 


522  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

dominating  influence  can  a  noble  and  upright  char- 
acter be  fully  developed.  That  we  ought  to  do  an 
action  is  of  itself  a  sufficient  and  ultimate  answer  to 
the  question  why  we  should  do  it. 

The  conscience  may  speak  never  so  loudly,  but 
without  energetic  will  it  may  speak  in  vain.  The 
will  is  free  to  choose  between  the  right  course  and 
the  wrong  one ;  but  the  choice  is  nothing  unless  fol- 
lowed by  immediate  and  decisive  action.  If  the 
sense  of  duty  be  strong  and  the  course  of  action 
clear,  the  courageous  will,  upheld  by  the  conscience, 
enables  a  man  to  proceed  on  his  course  bravely,  and 
to  accomplish  his  purposes  in  the  face  of  all  oppo- 
sition and  difficulty  ;  and  should  failure  be  the  issue, 
there  will  remain  at  least  the  satisfaction  that  it  has 
been  in  the  cause  of  duty.  There  is  a  sublimity  in 
conscious  rectitude,  a  pleasure  in  the  approval  of 
one's  own  mind,  in  comparison  with  which  the  treas- 
ures of  earth  are  not  worth  mentioning.  The  peace 
and  happiness  arising  from  this  are  above  all  change 
and  beyond  all  decay.  Disappointment  and  trials  do 
but  improve  them  ;  they  go  with  us  into  all  places 
and  attend  us  through  every  changing  scene  of  life. 
They  sustain  and  delight  at  home  and  abroad,  by 
day  and  by  night,  in  solitude  and  in  society,  in  sick- 
ness and  in  health,  in  time  and  eternity.  All  this 
is  sure  to  be  the  reward  of  him  who  knows  his  duty 
and  does  it,  regardless  as  to  what  others  say  or  as 
to  the  immediate  results  flowing  from  thence. 

We  all  have  good  and  bad  in  us.  The  good 
would  do  what  it  ought  to  do;  the  bad  does  what  it 


DUTY.  523 

can.  The  good  dwells  in  the  kingdom  of  duty;  the 
bad  sits  on  the  throne  of  might.  Duty  is  a  loyal 
subject ;  might  is  a  royal  tyrant.  Duty  is  the  evan- 
gel of  God  that  proclaims  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord;  might  is  the  scourge  of  the  world  that  riots 
in  carnage,  groans,  and  blood.  Duty  gains  its  vic- 
tories by  peace ;  might  conquers  only  by  war.  Duty 
is  a  moralist  resting  on  principle;  might  is  a  world- 
ling seeking  for  pleasure.  These  are  the  inward 
principles  contending  with  each  other  in  every  human 
soul. 

To  live  truly  and  nobly  is  to  act  energetically. 
Life  is  a  battle  to  be  fought  valiantly.  Inspired  by 
high  and  honorable  resolves  a  man  must  stand  to  his 
post,  and  die  there  if  necessary.  Like  the  hero  of 
old  his  determination  should  be  "to  dare  nobly,  to 
will  strongly,  and  never  to  falter  in  the  path  of  duty." 
It  has  been  truly  said  that  man's  real  greatness  con- 
sists, not  in  seeking  his  own  pleasure  or  fame,  but 
that  every  man  shall  do  his  duty.  What  most  stands 
in  the  way  of  the  performance  of  duty  is  irresolution, 
weakness  of  purpose,  and  indecision.  On  the  one 
side  are  conscience  and  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil ;  on  the  other  are  indolence,  selfishness,  and  love 
of  pleasure.  The  weak  and  ill-disciplined  will  may 
remained  suspended  for  a  time  between  these  influ- 
ences, but  at  length  the  balance  inclines  one  way  or 
another,  as  the  voice  of  conscience  is  heeded  or 
passed  by.  If  its  warning  voice  is  unheeded  the 
lower  influence  of  selfishness  will  prevail ;  thus  char- 
acter is  degraded,  and  manhood  abdicates  its  throne 


524  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

as    ruler,    and    sinks    to   the    level   of   slave    to   the 
senses. 

Be  not  diverted  from  your  duty  by  any  idle  reflec- 
tions the  silly  world  may  make  upon  you.  Their 
censures  have  no  power  over  you,  and,  consequently, 
should  not  La  any  part  of  your  concern.  No  man's 
spirits  were  ever  hurt  by  doing  his  duty ;  on  the 
contrary,  one  good  action  done,  one  temptation  re- 
sisted and  overcome,  one  sacrifice  of  desire  or  inter- 
est, purely  for  conscience's  sake,  will  prove  a  cordial 
for  weak  souls  most  salwtary  for  their  real  good; 
conducing  not  less  to  their  present  happiness  and 
welfare  than  to  their  eternal  and  unending  good. 


^IFE,  no  matter  in  what  aspects  it  has  been  pre- 
sented before  us,  when  we  come  to  the  reality, 
is  full  of  pitfalls  and  entanglements,  into  which 
our  unwary  feet  often  stumble.  Day  after  day, 
as  we  watch  the  different  vicissitudes  of  life,  we  are 
reminded  of  the  frailty  of  human  hopes  and  aspira- 
tions. As  the  leaves  of  the  tree,  once  flourishing, 
once  verdant,  lose  their  vitality  and  finally  waste 
away,  so  it  is  with  our  desires  and  anticipations. 

In  youth  we  look  forward;  the  future  appears 
calm  and  tranquil ;  as  we  approach  manhood  and 
womanhood  life  changes  its  appearance  and  becomes 
tempestuous  and  rough,  as  the  ocean  changes  before 


TRIALS.  525 

the  advancing  storm.  In  the  changes  of  real  life  joy 
and  grief  are  never  far  apart.  In  the  same  street 
the  shutters  of  one  house  are  closed,  while  the  cur- 
tains of  the  next  are  brushed  by  the  passing  dancers. 
A  wedding  party  returns  from  church,  and  a  funeral 
train  leaves  from  the  adjacent  house.  Gladness  and 
sighs  brighten  and  dim  the  mirror  of  daily  life. 
Tears  and  laughter  are  twin-born.  Like  two  chil- 
dren sleeping  in  one  cradle,  when  one  wakes  and 
stin  the  other  wakes  also. 

Be  not  dismayed  at  the  trials  of  life;  they  are 
sent  for  your  good.  God  knows  what  keys  in  the 
human  soul  to  touch  in  order  to  draw  out  its  sweet- 
est and  most  perfect  harmonies.  These  may  be  the 
strains  of  sadness  and  sorrow  as  well  as  the  loftier 
notes  of  joy  and  gladness.  Think  not  that  uninter- 
rupted joy  is  good.  The  sunshine  lies  upon  the 
mountain  top  all  day,  and  lingers  there  latest  and 
longest  at  eventide.  Yet  is  the  valley  green  and 
fertile,  while  the  peak  is  barren  and  unfruitful. 

Trials  come  in  a  thousand  different  forms,  and  as 
many  avenues  are  open  to  their  approach.  They 
come  with  the  warm  throbbing  of  our  youthful  lives, 
keep  pace  with  the  measured  tread  of  manhood's 
noon,  and  depart  not  from  the  descending  footsteps 
of  decrepitude  and  age.  We  may  not  hope  to  be 
entirely  free  from  either  disciplinary  trials  or  the  fiery 
darts  of  the  enemy  until  we  are  through  with  life's 
burdens.  Men  may  be  so  old  that  ambition  has  no 
charm,  pleasures  may  pale  on  the  senses,  but  they 
are  never  too  old  to  experience  trials. 


526  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Life  all  sunshine  without  shade,  all  happiness 
without  sorrow,  all  pleasure  without  pain,  were  not 
life  at  all — at  least  not  human  life.  Take  the  life  of 
the  happiest.  It  is  a  tangled  yarn.  It  is  made  up 
of  joys  and  sorrows,  and  the  joys  are  all  the  sweeter 
because  of  the  sorrows.  Even  death  itself  makes 
life  more  loving  ;  it  binds  us  more  closely  together 
while  living.  The  severer  trials  and  hazardous  en- 
terprises of  life  call  into  exercise  the  latent  faculties 
of  the  soul  of  man.  They  are  for  the  purpose  of 
putting  his  manhood  to  the  test,  and  rouse  in  him 
strength,  hardihood,  and  valor.  They  may  be  hard 
to  take,  though  they  strengthen  the  soul.  Tonics 
are  always  bitter. 

Heaven,  in  its  mercy,  has  placed  the  fountain  of 
wisdom  in  the  hidden  and  concealed  depths  of  the 
soul,  that  the  children  of  misfortune  might  seek  and 
find  in  its  healthful  waters  the  antidote  and  cordial 
of  their  cares  and  calamities.  Knowledge  and  sor 
row  are  blended  together,-  and  as  closely  and  in- 
separably so  as  ignorance  and  folly,  and  for  reasons 
equally  as  salutary  and  just.  Such  is  the  established 
course  of  nature ;  such  is  her  best  and  wisest  law. 
When  she  leads  us  from  what  is  frivolous  and  vain 
in  the  land  of  darkness,  and  brings  us  to  the  im- 
pressive and  true  in  the  land  of  light,  the  first  act 
she  performs  is  to  remove  the  scales  from  our  eyes 
that  we  may  see  and  weep.  We  must  first  learn  to 
mourn  and  feel  before  we  can  know  and  think.  And 
the  deeper  we  shall  go  into  the  depths  below  the 
higher  shall  we  ascend  into  the  heights  above. 


TRIALS.  527 

Man  is  like  a  sword  in  a  shop  window.  Men  that 
look  upon  the  perfect  blade  do  not  dream  of  the  pro- 
cess by  which  it  was  completed.  Man  is  a  sword, 
daily  life  is  the  workshop,  and  God  is  the  artificer, 
and  the  trials  and  sorrows  of  life  the  very  things  that 
"ashion  the  man.  We  should  remember  when  borne 
down  by  trials  that  they  are  sent  to  us  only  for  our 
instructions,  even  as  we  darken  the  cages  of  our 
birds  when  we  wish  them  to  sing.  Out  of  suffering 
have  emerged  the  strongest  souls,  the  most  massive 
characters  are  seamed  with  cares,  martyrs  have  put 
on  their  coronation  robes  glittering  with  fire,  and 
through  tears  many  caught  their  first  glimpse  of 
heaven. 

Never  meet  trouble  half-way,  but  let  him  have 
the  whole  walk  for  his  pains.  Perhaps  he  will  give 
up  his  visit  even  in  sight  of  your  house.  If  misfor- 
tune comes  be  patient,  and  he  will  soon  stalk  out 
again,  for  he  can  not  bear  cheerful  company.  Do 
not  think  you  are  fated  to  be  miserable,  because  you 
are  disappointed  in  your  expectation  and  baffled  in 
your  pursuits.  Do  not  declare  that  God  has  for- 
saken you  when  your  way  is  hedged  about  with 
thorns,  when  trials  and  troubles  meet  you  on  every 
side.  No  man's  life  is  free  from  struggles  and  morti- 
fications, not  even  the  happiest;  but  everyone  may 
build  up  his  own  happiness  by  seeking  mental  pleas- 
ures, and  thus  making  himself  independent  of  out- 
ward fortune. 

The  greatest  misfortune  of  all  is  not  to  be  able  to 
bear  misfortune.  Not  to  feel  misfortune  is  not  the  part 


528  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  a  mortal;  but  not  to  bear  it  is  not  becoming  in 
a  man.  Calamity  never  leaves  us  where  it  finds  us ; 
it  either  softens  or  hardens  the  heart  of  its  victim. 
Misfortune  is  never  mournful  to  the  soul  that  accepts 
it,  for  such  do  always  see  in  every  cloud  an  angel's 
face.  Every  man  deems  that  he  has  precisely  the 
trials  and  temptations  which  are  the  hardest  of  all 
others  for  him  to  bear.  From  the  manner  in  which 
men  bear  their  conditions  we  should  ofttimes  pity 
the  prosperous  and  envy  the  unfortunate. 

The  simplest  and  most  obvious  use  of  sorrow  is 
to  remind  us  of  God.  It  would  seem  that  a  certain 
shock  is  needed  to  bring  us  in  contact  with  reality. 
We  are  not  conscious  of  breathing  till  obstruction 
makes  it  felt.  So  we  are  not  conscious  of  the  mighty 
cravings  of  our  half  divine  •  humanity,  we  are  not 
aware  of  the  God  within  us,  till  some  chasm  yawns 
which  must  be  filled,  or  till  the  rending  asunder  of 
our  affection  brings  us  to  a  consciousness  of  our  need. 

To  mourn  without  measure  is  folly ;  not  to  mourn 
at  all  is  insensibility.  God  says  to  the  fruit-tree 
bloom  and  bear,  and  to  the  human  heart  bear  and 
bloom.  The  soul's  great  blooming  is  the  flower  of 
suffering.  As  the  sun  converts  clouds  into  a  glorious 
drapery,  firing  them  with  gorgeous  hues,  draping  the 
whole  horizon  with  its  glorious  costume,  and  writing 
victory  along  their  front,  so  sometimes  a  radiant  heart 
lets  forth  its  hopes  upon  its  sorrows,  and  all  blackness 
flies,  and  troubles  that  trooped  to  appall  seem  to 
crowd  around  as  a  triumphant  procession  following 
the  steps  of  a  victor. 


SICKNESS.  529 


!lCKNESS  takes  us  aside  and  sets  us  alone  with 
God.  We  are  taken  into  his  private  chamber, 
and  there  he  converses  with  us  face  to  face, 
The  world  is  afar  off,  our  relish  for  it  is  gone, 
and  we  are  alone  with  Him.  Many  are  the  words 
of  grace  and  truth  which  he  then  speaks  to  us.  All 
our  former  props  are  struck  away,  and  now  we  must 
lean  on  God  alone.  The  things  of  earth  are  felt  to 
be  vanity.  Man's  sympathy  deserts  us.  We  are 
cast  wholly  upon  God,  that  we  may  learn  that  his 
praise  and  his  sympathy  are  enough. 

There  is  something  in  sickness  that  lowers  the 
pride  of  manhood,  that  softens  the  heart,  and  brings 
it  back  to  the  feelings  of  infancy.  Who  that  has 
languished,  even  in  advanced  life,  in  sickness,  but 
has  thought  of  the  mother  who  watched  over  his 
childhood,  who  smoothed  his  pillow,  and  adminis- 
tered to  his  helplessness  ?  When  a  man  is  laboring 
under  the  pain  of  any  distemper,  it  is  then  that  he 
recollects  there  is  a  God,  and  that  he  himself  is  but 
a  man.  No  mortal  is  then  the  object  of  his  envy, 
his  admiration,  or  his  contempt,  and,  having  no  mal- 
ice to  gratify,  the  tales  of  slander  excite  him  not. 
But  it  unveils  to  him  his  own  heart.  It  shows  him 
the  need  there  is  for  sympathy  and  love  between 
man  and  man.  Thus  disease,  opening  our  eyes  to 
the  realities  of  life,  is  an  indirect  blessing.  One  who 
has  never  known  a  day's  illness  is  lacking  in  one 

34 


53G  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

department,  at  least,  of  moral  culture.  He  has  lost 
the  greatest  lesson  of  his  life ;  he  has  missed  the 
finest  lecture  in  that  great  school  of  humanity,  the 
sick  chamber. 

Disease  generally  begins  that  equality  which  death 
completes.  The  distinctions  which  set  one  man  sc 
much  above  another  are  very  little  perceived  in  the 
gloom  of  a  sick  chamber,  where  it  will  be  vain  to 
expect  entertainment  from  the  gay  or  instruction 
from  the  wise  ;  where  all  human  glory  is  obliterated, 
the  wit  is  clouded,  the  reasoner  perplexed,  and  the 
hero  subdued  ;  where  the  highest  and  brightest  of 
mortal  beings  finds  nothing  of  real  worth  left  him 
but  the  consciousness  of  innocence. 

Sickness  brings  a  share  of  blessings  with  it, 
What  stores  of  human  love  and  sympathy  it  reveals! 
What  constant,  affectionate  care  is  ours  !  what  kindly 
greetings  from  friends  and  associates  !  This  very 
loosening  of  our  hold  upon  life  calls  out  such  wealth 
of  human  sympathy  that  life  seems  richer  than  be 
fore.  Then,  it  teaches  humility.  Our  absence  u 
scarcely  noticed.  From  the  noisy,  wrestling  world 
we  are  separated  completely;  yet  our  place  is  filled, 
and  all  moves  on  without  us.  So  we  learn  that  when 
at  last  we  shall  sink  forever  beneath  the  waves  of 
the  sea  of  life,  there  will  be  but  one  ripple,  and  the 
current  will  move  steadily  on. 

It  is  on  the  bed  of  sickness  that  we  fully  realize 
the  value  of  good  health.  The  first  wealth  is  health. 
Sickness  is  poor-spirited,  and  can  not  serve  any  one; 
Lut  health  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  we  are 


SICKNESS.  531 

capable  cf  enjoying.  Money  can  not  buy  it ;  there- 
fore, value  it,  and  be  thankful  for  it.  Health  is  above 
all  gold  and  treasure.  It  enlarges  the  scul,  and 
opens  all  its  powers  to  receive  instruction  and  to 
/elish  virtue.  He  that  has  health  has  but  little  more 
to  wish  for  ;  and  he  that  has  it  not,  in  the  want  of  it 
wants  every  thing.  It  is  beyond  price,  since  it  is-  by 
health  that  money  is  procured.  Thousands,  and  even 
millions,  are  small  recompense  for  the  loss  of  health. 
Poverty  is,  indeed,  an  evil  from  which  we  naturally 
fly  ;  but  let  us  not  run  from  one  enemy  to  one  still 
more  implacable,  which  is  assuredly  the  lot  of  those 
who  exchange  poverty  for  sickness,  though  accom- 
panied by  wealth. 

In  no  situation  and  under  no  circumstances  does 
human  character  appear  to  better  advantage  than 
when  watching  by  the  side  of  sickness.  The  help- 
lessness and  weakness  of  the  sick  chamber  makes  a 
most  effective  appeal  to  the  charity  and  natural  kind- 
ness inherent  in  the  hearts  of  all,  even  of  the  most 
degraded.  Thus  it  appears  that  sickness  is  not  only 
of  discipline  to  the  sick  one,  but  it  serves  also  to 
bring  to  a  more  perfect  growth  the  flowers  of  charity 
and"  kindness  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  care  for  the 
sick  one. 

It  is  on  the  sick-bed  that  the  heart  learns  most 
completely  the  value  of  self-examination.  Life  passes 
before  the  sick  one  as  a  gliding  panorama.  How 
strong  are  the  resolutions  formed  for  future  guidance ! 
And  only  God  and  the  angels  know  how  many  lives 
have  been  turned  from  evil  courses  to  the  right,  have 


532  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

been  snatched  as  brands  from  the  burning,  who  can 
date  their  progress  in  the  good  and  true  modes  of 
living  from  some  bed  of  sickness.  Then,  let  us  be 
patient  in  sickness.  Let  us  turn  it  to  account  in  the 
bettering  of  our  hearts,  and  thus  may  we  reap  frorr 
seeming  evil  what  will  conduce  in  no  small  degree 
to  our  ultimate  happiness. 


|ORROWS  gather  around  great  souls  as  storms 
do  around  great  mountains,  but,  like  them,  they 
break  the  storms  and  purify  the  air.  Those 
who  have  suffered  much  are  like  those  who 
know  many  languages  —  they  have  learned  to  un- 
derstand and  be  understood  by  all. 

Sorrows  sober  us  and  make  the  mind  genial.  In 
sorrows  we  love  and  trust  our  friends  more  tenderly, 
and  the  dead  become  dearer  to  us.  Just  as  the 
stars  shine  out  in  the  night,  so  there  are  faces  that 
look  at  us  in  our  grief,  though  before  they  were 
fading  from  our  recollections.  Suffering !  Let  no 
man  dread  it  too  much,  because  it  is  better  for  him, 
and  will  help  make  him  sure  of  being  immortal. 
Just  as  it  is  only  at  night  that  other  worlds  are  to 
be  seen  shining  in  the  distance,  so  it  is  in  sorrow-^ 
the  night  of  the  soul — that  we  see  the  farthest,  and 
know  ourselves  natives  of  infinity,  sons  and  daugh 
ters  of  immortality. 


SORROW.  533 

The  path  of  life  meanders  through  a  bright  and 
beautiful  world — a  world  where  the  fragrant  flowers 
of  friendship,  nourished  by  the  gentle  dews  of  sym- 
pathy and  the  warm  sunlight  of  affection,  bloom  in 
perennial  beauty.  But  through  this  bright  world 
there  flows  a  stream  whose  turbid  waters  cross  and 
recross  the  path  of  every  pilgrim.  It  is  the  stream 
of  human  suffering.  As  the  rose-tree  is  composed 
of  the  sweetest  flowers  and  the  sharpest  thorns ;  as 
the  heavens  are  sometimes  overcast,  alternately  tem- 
pestuous and  serene,  so  is  the  life  of  man  intermin- 
gled with  hopes  and  fears,  with  joy  and  sorrow,  with 
pleasures,  and  with  pains. 

Life  is  beset  with  unavoidable  annoyances,  vexa- 
tious cares,  and  harassing  events.  But  we  endure 
them — we  strive  to  forget  them — or,  like  the  dust- 
worn  garment,  or  the  soil  on  our  shoes,  we  brush 
them  off,  and,  if  possible,  scarcely  bestow  a  thought 
on  the  trouble  it  requires.  But  when  we  have  once 
been  called  upon  to  feel  and  undergo  a  great  sorrow, 
to  bend  the  back  and  bow  the  head,  to  endure  the 
yoke  and  suffer  the  agony,  to  abide  the  pelting  of 
the  storm  of  adversity  and  sorrow,  when  few,  perhaps 
none,  sympathize  with  us — these  are  the  days  of  an- 
guish and  of  darkness,  these  the  nights  of  desolation 
and  despair ;  and  when  they  have  once  come  upon  us 
with  their  appalling  weight,  their  remorseless  power, 
we  can  never  be  beguiled  into  a  forgetfulness  of 
them.  The  memory  of  them  will  endure  as  long  as 
life  shall  last.  We  may  again  behold  the  beams  of 
a  cheerful  sun  throwing  a  delusive  coloring  over  the 


534  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

landscape  around  us,  but  while  our  eyes  may  icst 
upon  the  lights  they  will  dwell  upon  the  shadows  of 
the  picture. 

"Time  is  the  rider  that  breaks  youth."  To  the 
young  how  bright  the  new  world  looks !  how  full  of 
novelty  !  of  enjoyment !  of  pleasure  !  But  as  years 
pass  on  they  are  found  to  abound  in  sorrowful  scenes 
as  well  as  those  pleasant — scenes  of  toil,  suffering, 
difficulty,  perhaps  misfortune  and  failure.  Happy 
they  who  can  pass  through  such  trials  with  a  firm 
mind  and  a  pure  heart,  encountering  trials  with  cheer- 
fulness, and  standing  erect  beneath  even  the  heaviest 
burdens. 

Sorrow  is  the  noblest  of  all  discipline.  Our  na- 
ture shrinks  from  it,  but  it  is  not  the  less  a  discipline. 
It  is  a  scourge,  but  there  is  healing  in  its  stripes. 
It  is  a  chalice,  and  the  draught  is  bitter,  but  health 
proceeds  from  the  bitterness.  It  is  a  crown  of 
thorns,  but  it  becomes  a  wreath  of  light  on  the 
brow  which  it  has  lacerated.  It  is  a  cross  on  which 
the  spirit  groans,  but  every  Calvary  has  an  Olivet. 
To  every  place  of  crucifixion  there  is  likewise  a  place 
of  ascension.  The  sun  that  is  shrouded  is  unveiled, 
and  the  heavens  open  with  hopes  eternal  to  the  soul 
which  was  nigh  unto  despair.  Even  in  guilt  sorrow 
has  a  sanctity  within  it.  Place  a  bad  man  beside  the 
death-bed,  or  the  grave,  where  all  that  he  loved  is 
cold — we  are  moved,  we  are  won,  by  his  affection, 
and  we  find  the  divine  spark  yet  alive,  which  no  vice 
could  quench. 

Christianity  itself  is  a  religion  cf  sorrow.     It  was 


SORROW.  535 

born  in  sorrow,  in  sorrow  it  was  tried,  and  by  sorrow 
it  was  made  perfect.  The  Author  of  Christianity  was 
a  "man  of  sorrow  and  acquainted  with  grief."  Sor- 
row is  exalting,  and  a  baptism  of  sorrow  is  awarded 
to  every  one  who  strives  for  the  higher  life.  Since 
Christ  wept  over  Jerusalem  the  best,  the  bravest, 
who  have  followed  him  in  good  will  and  good  deeds 
have  commenced  their  mission  alike  in  suffering. 
Sorrow  is  not  to  be  complained  of;  it  is  the  passport 
by  which  we  are  to  be  made  acceptable  in  that  house 
where  all  tears  shall  be  wiped  away.  It  has  power 
for  good ;  it  has  joy  within  its  gloom,  and,  though 
Christianity  is  a  religion  of  trials  and  suffering,  it  is 
not  less  a  religion  of  hope ;  it  casts  down  in  order 
to  exalt,  and  if  it  tries  the  spirit  by  affliction  it  is  to 
prepare  it  for  a  future  great  reward. 

All  mankind  must  taste  the  cup  which  destiny 
has  mixed,  be  it  bitter  or  be  it  sweet.  Be  not  im- 
patient under  suffering.  It  is  for  the  correction  of 
thy  soul.  It  is  better  to  suffer  than  to  injure.  It  is 
better  to  suffer  without  a  cause  than  that  there  should 
be  cause  for  our  suffering.  By  experiencing  distress 
an  arrogant  insensibility  of  temper  is  most  effectually 
corrected.  Endeavor  to  extract  a  blessing  from  the 
remembrance  of  thy  own  sufferings.  If  so  be  that 
Providence  has  so  ordered  your  life  that  you  are 
not  subject  to  much  of  the  discipline  of  sorrow,  strive 
to  extract  this  discipline  from  the  consideration  of  the 
lot  of  those  less  favored  than  you  are.  Step  aside 
occasionally  from  the  flowers  and  smooth  paths  which 
it  is  permitted  you  to  walk  in,  in  order  to  view  the 


536  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

toilsome  march  of  your  fellow  creatures  through 
the  thorny  desert.  The  designed  end  of  temporal 
afflictions  is  to  cause  men  to  consider  their  spir- 
itual wants,  and  to  seek  the  good  of  their  higher 
natures. 

Often  suffering  not  only  fails  to  purify  the  soui 
from  sin,  but  aggravates  and  intensifies  its  selfish  and 
malignant  passions.  This  is  always  the  case  where 
the  heart  fails  to  accept  the  lesson  taught.  By  sub- 
mission to  sorrow  the  sweetest  traits  of  character  are 
developed,  as  some  fruits  are  brought  to  perfection 
only  by  frost.  Misfortune  should  act  upon  us  or 
upon  our  feelings  like  fire  upon  old  tenements,  which 
are  consumed  only  to  be  rebuilt  with  greater  perfec- 
tion. The"  winds  of  adversity  sweep  over  the  soul 
and  scatter,  the  fairest  blossoms  of  hope.  But  the 
blossoms  fall  that  the  fruit  may  appear.  So  with  us, 
when  the  flowers  of  hope  are  gone,  there  come  the 
fruits  of  long-suffering,  patience,  faith,  and  love.  Thus 
the  darkest  clouds  which  overhang  human  destiny 
may  often  appear  the  brightest  to  the  angels  who 
behold  them  with  prophetic  ken  from  heaven. 

The  damps  of  Autumn  sink  into  the  leaves  and 
prepare  them  for  decay,  and  thus  are  we,  insensibly 
perhaps,  detached  from  our  hold  on  life  by  the  gentle 
pressure  of  recorded  sorrows.  Who  is  not  familiar 
with  the  fact  that  life,  which  to  the  young  promises 
so  much,  but  to  the  middle-aged  presents  a  stern 
reality,  seems  to  the  old  as  a  day's  labor  now  clos- 
ing; and  even  as  the  laborer,  worn  by  the  burdens 
and  heat  of  the  day,  looks  forward  to  rest,  so  does 


SORROW.  537 

the  aged  pilgrim,  oppressed  by  the  accumulated 
griefs  and  sorrows  of  a  life-time,  look  forward  to 
the  rest  of  death  ? 

The  first  thing  to  be  conquered  in  grief  is  the 
pleasure  we  feel  in  indulging  it.  Persons  may  acquire 
a  morbid  and  unhealthy  state  of  feeling  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  by  a  constant  giving  way  to  feelings  of 
grief  become  at  last  so  constituted  that  on  the  slight- 
est occasions  they  give  way  to  apparently  uncontroll- 
able sorrow,  converting  thus  what  was  intended  as  a 
means  of  discipline  necessary  to  soul  growth  into  an 
evil  which  contracts  life.  Remember,  then,  that  in 
the  matter  of  giving  expression  to  sorrow  self-control 
is  no  less  necessary  than  in  the  other  affairs  of  life. 
There  is  but  one  pardonable  grief — that  for  the  de- 
parted. This  pleasing  grief  is  but  a  variety  of 
comfort,  the  sighs  are  but  a  mournful  mode  of 
loving  them. 

There  are  sorrows  too  sacred  to  be  babbled  to 
the  world,  griefs  which  one  would  forbear  to  whisper 
even  to  a  friend.  Real  sorrow  is  not  clamorous.  It 
seeks  to  shun  every  eye,  and  breathes  in  solitude  and 
silence  the  sighs  that  come  from  the  heart.  Every 
heart  has  also  its  secret  sorrows,  of  which  the  world 
knows  nothing,  and  ofttimes  we  call  a  man  cold  when 
he  is  only  sorrowful.  Sorrow  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes — that  which  really  comes  from  the  heart 
and  is  for  the  bettering  of  man,  and  that  which  comes 
from  wounded  selfishness,  egotism,  and  pride.  It  is 
our  duty  to  strive  against  giving  vent  to  the  latter 
kind  of  sorrow.  It  is,  after  all,  only  selfish  in  feeling 


538  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  expression.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  to  cultivate 
cheerfulness  of  manner  and  disposition.  Another 
hath  said,  "  Give  not  thy  mind  to  heaviness.  The 
gladness  of  heart  is  the  life  of  man,  and  the  joyful- 
ness  of  a  man  prolongeth  his  days.  Remove  sorrow 
far  from  thee,  for  sorrow  hath  killed  many,  and  there 
is  no  profit  therein ;  and  carefulness  bringeth  age  be- 
fore the  time." 

As  limbs  which  are  wrenched  violently  asunder  do 
not  bleed,  so  the  sudden  shocks  of  overwhelming  sor- 

£> 

row  are  unrelieved  by  tears.  The  heart  is  benumbed. 
The  eyes  are  dry,  and  the  very  fountain  of  feeling 
obstructed  and  stagnant.  Our  lighter  afflictions  find 
relief  in  lamentations  and  weeping,  and  the  voice  of 
sympathy  and  compassion  brings  some  consolation 
and  peace.  But  when  the  heart  has  been  deeply 
and  powerfully  struck  by  some  cruel  blow  of  destiny, 
the  intensity  of  suffering  exceeds  the  bounds  of 
sensibility  and  emotion. 

Those  who  work  hard  seldom  yield  themselves 
entirely  up  to  real  or  fancied  sorrow.  When  grief 
sits  down,  folds  its  hands,  and  mournfully  feeds  upon 
its  own  tears,  weaving  the  dim  shadows  that  a  little 
exertion  might  sweep  away  into  oblivion,  the  strong 
spirit  is  shorn  of  its  might,  and  sorrow  becomes  our 
master.  When  sorrow,  then,  pours  upon  you,  in- 
stead of  giving  way  to  it,  rather  seek  by  occupation 
to  divert  the  dark  waters  that  threaten  to  overwhelm 
you  into  the  thousand  channels  which  the  duties  of 
life  always  present.  Before  you  dream  of  it  those 
waters  will  fertilize  the  present  and  give  birth  to 


POVERTY.  539 

flowers  that  may  brighten  the  future — flowers  that 
will  become  pure  and  holy  in  the  sunshine  which 
illumes  the  path  of  duty,  in  spite  of  every  obstacle. 


can  not  be  too  often  repeated  that  it  is  not  the 
so-called  blessings  of  life,  its  sunshine  and  calms, 
that  makes  men,  but  its  rugged  experiences,  its 
storms,  tempests,  and  trials.  Early  poverty,  es- 
pecially, is  emphatically  a  blessing  in  disguise.  The 
school  of  poverty  graduates  the  ablest  pupils.  It 
does  more,  perhaps,  than  any  thing  else  to  develop 
the  energetic,  self-reliant  traits  of  character,  without 
which  the  highest  ability  makes  but  sorry  work  of 
life's  battles.  Thousands  of  men  are  bemoaning 
present  indigence  and  obscurity  who  might  have  won 
riches  and  honor  had  they  only  been  compelled  by 
early  poverty  to  develop  their  manhood.  As  well 
expect  the  oak  to  grow  strong  in  the  atmosphere  of 
the  hot-house  as  that  man  would  reach  his  best  estate 
surrounded  from  earliest  years  by  the  comforts  and 
luxury  of  wealth. 

Many  of  the  evils  of  poverty  are  imaginary,  aris- 
ing from  mistaken  notions  we  may  entertain  as  to 
what  constitutes  happiness  and  comfort.  There  is 
not  such  a  difference  as  some  men  imagine  between 
the  poor  and  the  rich.  In  pomp,  show,  and  opinion 
there  is  a  great  deal,  but  little  as  to  the  real  pleas- 


540  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

ures  and  joys  of  life.  No  man  is  poor  who  does  not 
think  himself  so.  But  if  in  a  full  fortune,  with  impa- 
tience he  desires  more,  he  proclaims  his  wants  and 
his  beggarly  condition.  We  are  more  and  more  im- 
pressed that  the  poor  are  only  they  who  feel  poor. 
He  whom  we  esteem  wealthy  in  a  true  scale  would 
perhaps  be  found  very  indigent.  Of  what  avail  the 
wealth  of  Crcesus  if  the  heart  feels  pinched  and 
poor? 

It  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  our  life  that  genius, 
the  noblest  gift  of  God  to  man,  is  nourished  by  pov- 
erty. Its  noblest  works  have  been  achieved  by  the 
sorrowing  ones  of  the  world  in  tears  and  despair. 
Not  in  the  brilliant  saloon,  furnished  with  every  com- 
fort and  elegance ;  not  in  the  library,  well-fitted, 
softly  carpeted,  and  looking  out  upon  a  smooth, 
green  lawn  or  a  broad  expanse  of  scenery  ;  not  in 
ease  and  competence, — is  genius  born  and  nurtured. 
More  frequently  in.  adversity  and  destitution,  amidst 
the  harassing  cares  of  a  straitened  household,  in  bare 
and  fireless  garrets,  is  genius  born  and  reared.  This 
is  its  birthplace,  and  with  such  surroundings  have 
men  labored,  studied,  and  trained  themselves,  until 
they  have  at  last  emanated  out  of  the  gloom  of  that 
obscurity,  the  shining  lights  of  their  time,  and  exer- 
cised an  influence  upon  the  thoughts  of  the  world 
amounting  to  a  species  of  intellectual  legislation. 

If  there  is  any  thing  in  the  world  that  a  young 
man  should  be  more  grateful  for  than  another,  it  is 
the  poverty  which  necessitates  his  starting  in  life 
under  very  great  disadvantages.  Poverty  is  one  of 


POVERTY.  541 

the  best  tests  of  human  quality  in  existence.  A  tri- 
umph over  it  is  like  graduating  with  honor  from  West 
Point.  It  demonstrates  stuff  and  stamina.  It  is  a 
certificate  of  worthy  labor  faithfully  performed.  A 
young  man  who  can  not  stand  this  test  is  not  good 
for  any  thing.  He  can  never  rise  above  a  drudge  or 
a  pauper.  If  he  can  not  feel  his  will  harden  as  the 
yoke  of  poverty  presses  upon  him,  and  his  pluck  rise 
with  every  difficulty  that  poverty  throws  in  his  way, 
he  may  as  well  withdraw  from  the  conflict,  since  his 
defeat  is  already  assured.  Poverty  saves  a  thousand 
times  more  men  than  it  ruins ;  for  it  only  ruins  those 
who  are  not  worth  saving,  while  it  saves  multitudes 
of  those  whom  wealth  would  have  ruined. 

It  is  of  decided  advantage  for  a  man  to  be  under 
the  necessity  of  having  to  struggle  with  poverty,  and 
conquer  it.  "  He  who  has  battled,"  says  Carlyle, 
"were  it  only  with  poverty  and  toil,  will  be  found 
stronger  and  more  expert  than  he  who  could  stay  at 
home  from  the  battle."  It  is  not  prosperity  so  much 
as  adversity,  not  wealth  so  much  as  poverty,  that 
stimulates  the  perseverance  of  strong  and  healthy 
natures,  rouses  their  energy,  and  develops  their  char- 
acter. Indeed,  misfortune  and  poverty  have  fre- 
quently converted  the  indolent  votary  of  society  into 
a  useful  member  of  the  commu  lity,  and  made  him  a 
moving  power  in  the  great  workshop  of  the  world, 
teaching  men,  and  developing  the  powers  which 
nature  has  bestowed  on  them. 

Poverty  is  the  great  test  of  civility  and  the  touch- 
stone of  friendship.  Amid  the  poverty  and  privation 


542  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

of  the  humblest  homes  are  often  found  scenes  of 
magnanimity  and  self-denial  as  utterly  beyond  the 
belief  as  it  is  the  practices  of  the  great  and  rich — ,' 
acts  of  self-denial,  kindness,  and  generosity,  which 
borrow  no  support  either  from  the  gaze  of  the  many 
or  the  admiration  of  the  few,  yet  giving  daily  exhibi 
tions  of  its  strength  and  constancy.  It  is  the  great 
privilege  of  poverty  to  be  happy  and  unenvied,  to  be 
healthy  without  physic,  secure  without  a  guard,  and 
to  obtain  from  the  bounty  of  nature  what  the  great 
and  wealthy  are  compelled  to  procure  by  the  help 
of  art. 

Few  are  the  real  wants  and  necessities  of  mankind. 
Some  men  with  thousands  a  year  surfer  more  for 
want  of  means  than  others  with  only  hundreds.  The 
reason  is  found  in  the  artificial  wants  of  the  former. 
Though  his  income  is  great  his  wants  are  still 
greater,  and,  as  a  consequence,  his  income  is  not 
equal  to  his  outgo.  There  are  many  wealthy  people 
who,  of  course,  enjoy  their  wealth,  but  there  are 
thousands  who  never  know  a  moment's  peace  be- 
cause they  live  above  their  means.  He  who  earns 
but  a  dollar  a  day,  and  does  not  run  in  debt,  is  a 
happier  man.  The  great  secret  of  being  solvent  and 
well-to-do  and  comfortable  is  to  get  ahead  of  your  ex- 
penses. Eat  and  drink  this  month  what  you  earned 
last  month,  not  what  you  are  going  to  earn  the  next. 

Poverty  may  be  a  bitter  draught,  yet  it  often  is 
a  tonic,  strengthening  all  the  powers  of  manhood. 
Though  the  drinker  makes  a  wry  face  there  is,  after 
all,  a  wholesome  goodness  in  the  cup.  But  debt, 


POVERTY.  543 

however  courteously  it  may  be  offered,  is  the  cup  of 
a  siren,  and  the  wine,  spiced  and  delicious  though 
it  be,  is  poison.  The  man  out  of  debt,  though  with 
a  flaw  in  his  jerkin  and  a  hole  in  his  hat,  is  still 
the  son  of  liberty,  free  as  the  singing  bird§  above 
him ;  but  the  debtor,  although  clothed  in  the  utmost 
bravery,  what  is  he  but  a  serf  out  upon  a  holiday? 
a  slave  to  be  reclaimed  at  every  instant  by  his  owner, 
the  creditor? 

Poverty  is  never  felt  so  severely  as  by  those  who 
have  seen  better  days.  The  poverty  of  the  poor  has 
many  elements  of  hardness,  but  it  is  endurable,  and 
is  developing  their  strength  and  endurance.  The 
poverty  of  the  formerly  affluent  is,  indeed,  hard ;  it 
avoids  the  light  of  the  day  and  shuns  the  sympathy 
of  those  who  would  relieve  its  wants ;  it  preys  upon 
the  heart  and  corrodes  the  mind ;  the  sunshine  of  life 
is  gone,  and  it  requires  a  strong  mind  to  resolutely 
set  about  to  mend  the  impaired  fortune. 

It  is  the  misfortune  of  many  young  persons  to- 
day that  they  begin  life  with  too  many  advantages. 
Every  possible  want  of  their  many-sided  nature  is 
supplied  before  it  is  consciously  felt.  Books,  teach- 
ers, -mental  and  religious  training,  lectures,  amuse- 
ments, clothes,  and  food,  all  of  the  best  quality,  and 
without  stint  in  quantity — in  short,  the  pick  of  the 
world's  good  things  —  and  help  of  every  kind  are 
lavished  upon  them,  till  satiety  results,  and  all  ambi- 
tion is  extinguished.  What  motive  has  a  young  man 
for  whom  life  is  thus  "thrice  winnowed"  to  exert 
himself?  Having  supped  full  of  life's  sweets  he  finds 


544  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

them  palling  on  his  taste ;  having  done  nothing  to 
earn  its  good  things  he  can  not  appreciate  their 
value.  Like  a  hot-house  plant,  grown  weak  and 
spindling  through  too  much  shelter  and  watching, 
he  neefls  nothing  so  much  as  to  be  set  in  the  open 
air  of  the  world,  and  to  grow  strong  with  struggling 
for  existence. 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  working,  successful  men  of 
to-day  were  once  industrious,  self-reliant  boys.  And 
the  same  thing  will  be  repeated,  for  from  the  ranks 
of  the  hard-working,  economical,  temperate,  and  self- 
reliant  boys  of  to-day  will  emanate  the  progressive, 
prominent  men  of  the  future.  All  boys  should  grow 
up  strong  as  steel  bars,  fighting  their  way  to  an  ed- 
ucation, and  then,  when  they  are  all  ready,  plunging 
into  real  life.  The  majority  of  the  men  of  mark  in 
this  country  are  not  tl}e  sons  of  those  whose  fathers 
could  give  them  all  they  want,  and  much  more  than 
they  should  have,  but  are  those  who  were  brought 
up  in  cottages  and  cabins,  cutting  their  way  through 
difficulties  on  every  side  to  their  present  commanding 
position. 

Of  all  poverty  that  of  the  mind  is  the  most  de- 
plorable. And  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  without  ex- 
cuse. Every  one  who  wills  it  can  lay  in  a  rich  store 
of  mental  wealth.  The  poor  man's  purse  may  be 
empty,  but  he  has  as  much  gold  in  the  sunset,  and 
as  much  silver  in  the  moon,  as  any  body.  Wealth 
of  heart  is  not  dependent  upon  wealth  of  purse. 
Home  comfort  and  happiness  does  not  depend  upon 
elegance  of  surroundings.  But  it  is  found  in  the 


AFFLICTION.  545 

spirit  presiding  over  the  household ;  this  is  the  spirit 
of  loving  kindness,  and  is  as  apt  to  dwell  with  pov- 
erty as  with  wealth.  Thus  the  evils  of  poverty  are 
much  exaggerated.  And  the  evils,  if  evils  they  be, 
are,  after  all,  for  our  own  ultimate  good. 


is  an  elasticity  to  the  human  mind  ca- 
pable  of  bearing  much,  but  which  will  not  show 
itself  until  a  certain  weight  of  affliction  be  put 
upon  it.  "  Fear  not  the  darkness,"  saith  the  Per- 
sian proverb;  "it  conceals  perhaps  the  springs  of  the 
water  of  life."  Experience  is  often  bitter,  but  whole- 
some. Only  by  its  teachings  can  we  learn  to  suffer 
and  be  strong.  Character  in  its  highest  forms  is 
disciplined  by  trial  and  made  perfect  through  suffer- 
ing. Even  from  the  deepest  sorrow  the  patient  and 
thoughtful  mind  will  gather  a  richer  mead  than 
pleasure  ever  yielded. 

Think  it  not  unkind  when  afflictions  befall  thee  ; 
it  is  all  for  the  best  that  they  are  sent.  God  calls 
those  whom  he  loveth,  and  why  should  he  not  claim 
his  own  jewels  to  shine  in  his  house,  though  our 
own  be  made  dreary  ?  It  may  seem  hard  under  such 
circumstances  to  say  that  it  is  "all  for  the  best." 
The  human  heart  is  prone  to  give  over  to  grief  and 
lamentations;  but  wait,  soon,  when  like  the  tired  pil- 
grim thou  shalt  fall  sick  and  weary,  He  will  take  you 
35 


546  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

home  to  rejoice  in  finding  friends  from  whom  you 
have  been  separated.  Then  how  true  will  be  the 
saying  that  "it  was  all  for  the  best!" 

Sad  accidents  and  a  state  of  affliction  are  a  school 
of  virtue.  It  reduces  our  spirits  to  soberness  and 
our  counsels  to  moderation;  it  corrects  levity.  God, 
who  governs  the  world  in  mercy  and  wisdom,  never 
would  have  suffered  the  virtuous  ones  to  endure  so 
many  keen  afflictions  did  he  not  intend  that  they 
should  be  the  seminary  of  comfort,  the  nursery  of 
virtue,  the  exercise  of  wisdom,  and  the  trial  of  pa- 
tience, the  venturing  for  a  crown  and  the  gate  of 
glory.  Much  of  the  most  useful  work  done  by  men 
and  women  has  been  done  amidst  afflictions — some- 
times as  a  relief  from  it,  sometimes  as  a  sense  of 
duty  overpowering  personal  sorrow. 

Adversity  is  the  touch-stone  of  character.  As 
some  herbs  need  to  be  crushed  to  give  forth  their 
sweetest  odors,  so  some  natures  need  to  be  tried  by 
suffering  to  evoke  the  excellence  that  is  in  them. 
Grief  is  a  common  bond  that  unites  hearts.  It  can 
knit  hearts  closer  than  happiness  can,  and  common 
sufferings  are  far  stronger  links  than  common  joys. 
The  visitations  of  sorrow  are  universal.  There  beats 
not  a  heart  but  that  it  has  felt  the  force  of  affliction. 
There  is  not  an  eye  but  has  witnessed  many  scenes 
of  sorrow. 

They  are  always  impaired  by  sorrow  who  are  not 
thereby  improved.  Some  natures  are  like  grapes— 
the  more  they  are  downtrodden  the  richer  tribute 
they  supply.  It  may  be  affirmed  substantially  that 


AFFLICTION.  547 

good  men  reap  more  real  benefit  from  their  affliction 
than  bad  men  do  from  their  prosperities  ;  for  what 
they  lose  in  wealth,  pleasure,  or  honor  they  gain  in 
wisdom  and  tranquillity  of  mind.  "  No  creature  would 
be  more  unhappy,"  said  Demetrius,  "than  a  man  who 
had  never  known  affliction."  The  best  need  afflic- 
tions for  the  trial  of  their  virtue.  How  can  we  exer- 
cise the  grace  of  contentment  if  all  things  succeed 
well  ?  or  that  of  forgiveness  if  we  have  no  enemies  ? 

At  a  superficial  view  it  appears  that  adversity 
happens  to  all  alike,  without  regard  to  rank  or  con- 
dition. The  good  are  apparently  as  little  favored  by 
fortune  in  this  respect  as  the  bad,  the  high  as  the 
humble.  People  are  continually  rising  and  falling  in 
all  the  grades  of  society.  We  often  see  men  of  high 
expectations  suddenly  cut  down,  and  left  to  struggle 
with  despair  and  ruin.  If  the  happiness  of  mankind 
depended  upon  the  caprice  of  fortune,  their  condition 
would  be  wretched  But  it  is  possible  to  possess  a 
mind  which  will  not  lose  its  tranquillity  in  the  severest 
adversity,  or  at  least  such  a  one  as,  being  disturbed  and 
deprived  of  its  wonted  serenity  by  a  sudden  calamity, 
will  recover  in  a  short  period,  and  assume  its  native 
buoyancy  by  the  shock  which  it  has  experienced. 

How  uncertain  is  human  life!  There  is  but  a 
breath  of  air  and  a  beat  of  a  heart  betwixt  this 
world  and  the  next.  In  the  brief  interval  of  painful 
and  awful  suspense,  while  we  feel  that  death  is  pres- 
ent with  us,  we  are  powerless  and  he  all  powerful. 
The  last  faint  pulsation  here  is  but  the  pre  ude  of 
endless  joys  hereafter.  In  the  midst  of  the  stunning 


548  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

calamity  about  to  befall  us,  when  death  is  in  the 
family  circle,  and  some  loved  one  is  about  to  be 
taken  from  us,  we  feel  as  if  earth  had  no  compensat- 
ing good  to  mitigate  the  severity  of  our  loss.  But 
we  forget  that  there  is  no  grief  without  some  benef- 
icent provisions  to  soften  its  intensities.  Thus  in  the 
presence  of  death  there  is  also  a  consolation.  Ha? 
the  life  been  stormy  t  There  is  now  rest ;  rest  for 
the  troubled  heart  and  the  weary  head.  And  it  can 
be  known  only  by  experience  with  what  a  longing 
many  hearts  thus  look  forward  to  the  rest  of  death. 
Many  whom  the  world  regards  as  peculiarly  blessed 
by  Providence  carry  with  them  such  corroding,  anx- 
ious cares  that  it  is  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  they 
contemplate  the  approach  of  death.  To  them  death 
comes  in  its  most  beautiful  form.  He  borrows  the 
garb  of  gentle  sleep,  lays  down  his  iron  scepter,  and 
his  cold  hand  falls  as  warm  as  the  hand  of  friendship 
over  the  weary  heart  novy  ceasing  to  beat. 

Grief  or  misfortune  seems  to  be  indispensable  tG 
the  development  of  intelligence,  energy,  and  virtue 
The  trials  to  which  humanity  are  subject  are  neces- 
sary to  draw  them  from  their  lethargy,  to  disclose 
their  character.  Afflictions  even  have  the  effect  of 
eliciting  talents  which,  in  prosperous  circumstances, 
would  have  lain  dormant.  Suffering,  indeed,  seems 
to  have  been  as  divinely  appointed  as  joy,  while  it  is 
much  more  influential  as  a  discipline  of  character. 
Suffering  may  be  the  appointed  means  by  which  the 
highest  nature  of  man  is  to  be  disciplined  and  devel- 
oped, sometimes  a  heart-break  rouses  an  impassive 


AFFLICTION.  549 

nature  to  life.     "  What  does  he  know,"  said  a  sage, 
"who  has  not  suffered?" 

No  soul  is  so  obscure  that  God  does  not  take 
thought  for  its  schooling.  The  sun  is  the  central 
light  of  the  solar  system ;  but  it  has  a  mission  to  the 
ripening  corn  and  the  purpling  clusters  on  the  vine, 
as  well  as  the  ponderous  planet.  The  sunshine  that 
comes  filtering  through  the  morning  mists  with  heal- 
ing on  its  wings,  and  charming  all  the  birds  to  sing- 
ing, should  have  also  a  message  from  God  to  sad 
hearts.  No  soul  is  so  grief-laden  that  it  may  not  be 
lifted  to  sources  of  heavenly  comfort  by  recognizing 
the  Divine  love  in  the  perpetual  recurrence  of  earthly 
blessings. 

Afflictions  sent  by  Providence  must  be  submitted 
to  in  a  humble  spirit.  Otherwise  they  will  not  con- 
duce to  lasting  good.  The  same  furnace  that  hardens 
clay  liquefies  gold  ;  and  the  manifestation  of  Divine 
power  Pharaoh  found  his  punishment,  but  David  his 
pardon.  As  the  musician  straineth  at  his  strings, 
and  yet  breaketh  none  of  them,  but  maketh  thereby 
a  sweeter  melody  and  better  concord,  so  God,  through 
affliction,  makes  his  own  better  unto  the  fruition  and 
enjoyment  of  the  life  to  come.  Afflictions  are  the 
medicine  of  the  mind.  If  they  are  not  toothsome, 
let  it  suffice  that  they  are  wholesome.  It  is  not  re- 
quired in  physic  that  it  should  please,  but  that  it 
should  heal. 

Let  one  of  our  loved  ones  be  taken  away, 
and  memory  recalls  a  thousand  sayings  to  regret. 
Death  quickens  recollection  painfully.,  The  grave 


550  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

can  not  hide  the  white  face  of  the  one  who  sleeps. 
The  coffin  and  the  green  mound  are  cruel  magnets. 
They  draw  us  further  than  we  would  go.  They 
force  us  to  remember.  A  man  never  sees  so  far  into 
human  life  as  when  he  looks  over  a  wife's  or  a  moth- 
er's grave.  His  eyes  get  wondrous  clear  then,  and 
and  he  sees  as  never  before  what  it  is  to  love  and  be 
loved,  what  it  is  to  injure  the  feelings  of  the  beloved. 

When  death  comes  into  a  household,  we  do  not 
philosophize;  we  only  feel.  The  eyes  that  are  full 
of  tears  do  not  see,  though,  in  the  course  of  time, 
they  come  to  see  more  clearly  and  brightly  than 
those  that  have  never  known  sorrow.  Perhaps  the 
heaviest  affliction  of  life  is  that  of  the  mother  who  has 
lost  a  child.  As  the  waters  roll  in  on  shore  with  in- 
cessant throbs — not  alone  when  storms  prevail,  but 
in  calms  as  well — so  it  is  with  a  mother's  heart,  be- 
reaved of  her  children.  Death  always  speaks  with  a 
voice  of  instruction  and  reproof;  but  when  the  first 
death  happens  in  a  home  it  speaks  with  a  voice 
which  scarcely  any  other  form  of  tribulation  can 
equal. 

Some  of  the  saddest  experiences  of  life  come 
without  premonition.  Yesterday  life  went  well ;  hope 
was  in  the  ascendant ;  it  was  easy  to  be  content. 
To-day  all  is  reversed.  The  crushed  heart  can 
scarcely  lift  itself  to  pray  ;  speech  seems  paralyzed. 
It  seems  cruel  that  such  calamity  should  be  permit- 
ted, when  we  might  have  been  so  happy.  Was  there 
not  some  way  by  which  it  could  have  been  avoided  ? 
What  are  life's  compensations  now?  What  are  its 


AFFLICTION.  551 

ambitions  worth  in  the  face  of  this  ?  In  a  great 
affliction  there  is  no  light,  either  in  the  mind  or  in 
the  sun  ;  for  when  the  inward  light  is  fed  with  fra- 
grant oil,  there  can  be  no  darkness,  though  clouds 
should  cover  the  sun.  But  when,  like  a  sacred  lamp 
in  the  temple,  the  inward  light  is  quenched,  there  is 
no  light  outwardly,  though  a  thousand  suns  should 
preside  in  the  heavens. 

Why  should  body  and  soul  be  plunged  into  sor- 
row's dungeon  when  God  sees  fit  to  afflict  ?  Is  not 
the  world  as  bright  as  of  yore  ?  Are  there  not  still 
some  happy  phases  to  life's  weary  pilgrimage  ?  We 
should  not  complain  of  .oppression,  but,  with  submis- 
sion and  love,  perform  the  duties  of  life ;  and  though 
sorrow  and  grief  come,  we  must  not  let  darkness 
obscure  the  talents  which  God  has  given  to  promote 
our  own  and  others'  happiness,  or  bury  them  with 
the  brighter  past,  but  nobly  use  them,  and  count  all 
sorrow  as  naught  in  comparison  with  the  future  great 
reward  of  right  actions.  After  this  life  of  sorrow 
and  pain,  where  we  are  continually  weighed  down 
with  care,  there  is  a  home  of  perpetual  rest,  the 
streets  of  which  are  thronged  with  an  angelic  host, 
who,  "  with  songs  on  their  lips  and  with  harps  in 
their  hands,"  tell  neither  the  sorrow  nor  grief  which 
perhaps  wasted  their  lives.  To  bear  the  ills  of  life 
patiently  is  one  of  the  noblest  virtues,  and  one  that 
requires  as  vigorous  an  exercise  of  the  will  as  to 
resent  the  encroachments  of  wrong. 


552  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


is  sometimes  of  God's  mercy  that  men  in  the 
eager  pursuit  of  ambitious  plans  are  baffled  ;  for 
they  are  very  like  a  train  on  down  grade  —  pull- 
ing on  the  brake  is  not  pleasant,  but  it  keeps  the 
car  on  the  track.  We  mount  to  heaven  mostly  on 
the  ruins  of  our  cherished  schemes,  finding  in  our 
failures  our  real  successes. 

Disappointments  seem  to  be  the  lot  of  man. 
From  the  little  child  with  golden  hair  attempting  to 
catch  the  glancing  sunbeams  to  the  old  man  who, 
with  whitened  locks  and  bent  frame,  pursues  some 
scheme  of  wealth,  disappointment  is  the  almost  inev- 
itable consequence.  Well  it  is  for  us  that  the  future 
is  veiled  from  our  eyes,  else  we  would  weary  of  the 
trials  and  allurements  that  make  up  the  sum  of  our 
existence.  The  child  looks  forward  to  manhood  ;  his 
dreams  are  speculative  ;  the  man  looks  back  to  child- 
hood, and  thinks  of  the  happy  days  of  old.  From 
the  time  he  sits  on  his  mother's  knee,  with  the  sun- 
light streaming  in  through  the  open  window,  until 
the  last  hours  of  life,  when  the  sunlight  glances  in 
through  closed  shutters,  he  is  playing  with  shadows. 
And  one  of  the  saddest  thoughts  that  come  to  us 
in  life  is  the  thought  that  in  this  bright,  beautiful, 
joy-giving  world  of  ours  there  are  so  many  shadowed 
lives.  If  disappointment  came  only  to  the  lot  of  the 
sinning,  even  then  we  might  drop  a  tear  over  him 
whose  errors  wrought  their  own  recompense.  But 


DISAPPOINTMENTS.  553 

it  is  not  so.  The  most  pure  lives  are  sometimes 
those  that  are  the  fullest  of  disappointments.  With 
one  it  is  the  wreck  of  a  great  ambition.  He  has 
builcled  his  ship,  and  launched  it  on  the  sea  of  life 
freighted  with  the  richest  jewels  of  his  strength  and 
manhood.  Behold,  it  comes  back  to  him  beaten, 
battered,  and  torn  by  the  fury  of  the  gale — the  wreck 
of  a  first  trial. 

Many  are  disappointed  because  they  do  not  look 
for  happiness  and  success  either  in  the  right  spirit 
or  by  the  proper  methods.  There  is  a  legend  told 
of  a  knight  who, — 

"  In  the  brave  days  of  old," 

journeyed  far  away  in  search  of  the  Holy  Grail.  He 
engaged  in  great  pursuits.  He  sought  the  most  ar- 
duous undertakings.  But  failing  to  seek  in  the  right 
spirit  his  search  and  his  efforts  were  in  vain.  At 
length,  wearied  and  disappointed,  he  sought  his  na- 
tive land.  Here,  in  the  work  of  daily,  trifling  duties, 
humbly  seeking  to  do  what  was  right,  he  unexpect- 
edly found  that  for  which  he  had  so  long  searched. 
In  life  we  all  seek  happiness  and  success.  There 
is  but  one  way  in  which  we  can  succeed ;  when  we 
admit  that  happiness  is  but  a  state  of  the  mind,  and 
that  success  is  the  faithful  performance  of  known 
duties,  then  shall  we  acquire  both.  Though  we  may 
wander  the  wide  world  over,  and  gather  wealth  and 
fame,  they  will  be  found  impotent  to  confer  happiness, 
and  life  to  us  will  seem  full  of  disappointments ;  but 
it  is  so  simply  because  we  failed  to  seek  for  life  in 


554  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

that  spirit  of  quiet  content  which  alone  conducts  \>*» 
to  its  portals. 

It  never  yet  happened  to  any  man  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  nor  ever  will,  to  have  all  things 
according  to  his  desires.  And  there  never  was  any 
one  yet  to  whom  fortune  was  not  at  some  time  op- 
posite and  adverse.  Those  who  risk  nothing  can,  of 
course,  lose  nothing;  sowing  no  hopes  they  can  not 
suffer  from  the  blight  of  disappointment.  But  let 
him  who  is  enlisted  for  the  war  expect  to  meet  the 
foe.  It  is  with  life's  troubles  as  with  the  risks  of  the 
battle-field ;  there  is  always  less  of  aggregate  danger 
to  the  party  who  stands  firm  than  to  the  one  who 
gives  way.  To  give  way  to  disappointments  is  to 
invite  defeat.  To  bravely  cast  about  for  means  to 
resist  them  is  to  put  them  to  flight,  and  out  of  tem- 
porary misfortune  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  more 
glorious  success.  Send  disappointments  to  the  winds ; 
take  life  as  it  is,  and,  with  a  strong  will,  make  it  as 
near  what  it  should  be  as  possible. 

Dark  and  full  of  disappointments  may  be  our  lot, 
and  we  may  not  be  able  to  fathom  the  reason  for 
them  ;  but  if  we  can  only  bring  ourselves  to  see  that 
they  are  for  our  good,  that  we  need  their  chastening 
influence,  all  will  be  well  in  the  end.  In  the  trials 
of  life  we  must  look  more  for  consolation  within  than 
from  without.  The  surest  consolations  of  life  are 
those  which  we  thus  derive  from  our  own  thoughts. 
For  this  end  it  matters  not  so  much  whether  we 
spend  time  in  study  or  toil ;  the  thoughts  of  the  mind 
should  go  out  and  reach  after  higher  good.  In  this 


DISAPPOINTMENTS.  555 

manner  we  may  improve  ourselves  till  our  thoughts 
come  to  be  sweet  companions  that  shall  lead  us  along 
the  paths  of  virtue.  Thus  we  may  grow  better 
within,  whilst  the  cares  of  life,  the  losses  and  the 
disappointments  lose  their  sharp  thorns,  and  the 
journey  of  life  be  made  comparatively  pleasant  and 
happy. 

It  is  generally  known  that  he  who  expects  much 
will  be  often  disappointed ;  yet  disappointment  sel- 
dom cures  us  of  expectations.  It  is  human  to  err; 
so  it  is  the  lot  of  mortals  to  be  disappointed,  for 
never  yet  did  error  secure  the  end  wished.  It  is, 
however,  the  better  philosophy  to  take  things  calmly 
and  endeavor  to  be  content  with  our  lot.  We  may 
at  least  add  some  rays  of  sunshine  to  our  path  if  we 
earnestly  endeavor  to  dispel  the  clouds  of  discontent 
that  may  arise  in  our  bosom,  and  by  so  doing  enjoy 
more  fully  the  bountiful  blessing  that  God  gives  to 
his  humblest  creatures.  The  great  secret  of  avoid- 
ing disappointment  is  not  to  expect  too  much.  De- 
spair follows  immoderate  hopes,  as  the  higher  a  body 
rises  the  heavier  it  falls  to  the  ground. 

Time  is  the  great  consoler  of  the  world,  inas- 
much as  he  heals  our  sorrows  and  trials.  But  time, 
in  dashing  to  pieces  our  most  cherished  plans  and 
brightest  dreams,  also  brings  us  to  many  disappoint- 
ments which  in  turn  disappear  [with  the  passage  of 
years.  While  sagacity  contrives,  patience  matures, 
and  labor  industriously  executes,  disappointment 
laughs  at  the  curious  fabric  formed  by  so  many 
efforts  and  gay  with  so  many  brilliant  colors,  and 


556  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

when  the  artist  imagines  the  work  arrived  at  the 
moment  of  completion,  brushes  away  the  beautiful 
fabric,  and  leaves  nothing  behind. 

We  thus  see  that  life  is,  indeed,  a  variegated  scene, 
full  of  trials  and  full  of  joys — bright  dreams,  some 
fulfilled,  more  disappointed.  What  is  the  lesson  for 
us  to  learn  from  this  ?  Perhaps  the  truest  philoso- 
phy is  not  to  expect  much,  to  be  moderate  in  our 
plans  and  hopes.  In  youth  especially  are  we  apt  to 
be  over  sanguine.  Reflect  that  life  is  full  of  disap- 
pointments, that  it  is  vain  for  you  to  expect  to  escape 
them.  But  also  learn  to  go  forward  with  a  brave 
face.  You  may  fail,  but  from  this  failure  you  can 
organize  future  success.  Because  disappointed  in 
one  particular  plan,  it  is  no  reason  why  you  should 
abandon  all  plans,  and  settle  down  to  the  conviction 
that  life  itself  is  a  failure.  Show  yourself  a  man, 
and  rise  superior  to  misfortune,  and  you  will  be 
rewarded  by  a  final  victory  made  more  glorious  by 
temporary  discouragement,  just  as  the  sun  burst- 
ing .from  behind  the  clouds  lights  up  the  landscape 
with  a  more  glorious  light  because  of  the  storms  of 
the  morning. 


FAILURE.  557 


'T  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  men  succeed 
through  success ;  they  much  oftener  succeed 
through  failure.  By  far  the  best  experience  of 
men,  experience  from  which  they  gain  the  most 
of  lasting  value,  is  gathered  from  their  failures  in 
their  dealings  with  others  in  the  affairs  of  life.  Such 
failures,  for  sensible  men,  incite  to  better  self-man- 
agement and  greater  tact  and  self-control,  as  a  means 
of  avoiding  them  in  the  future.  Ask  the  successful 
business  man,  and  he  will  tell  you  that  he  learned  the 
secret  of  success  through  being  baffled,  defeated, 
thwarted,  and  circumvented,  far  more  than  from  his 
successes.  Precept,  study,  advice,  and  example  could 
never  have  taught  them  so  well  as  failure  has  done. 
It  has  disciplined  and  taught  them  what  to  do  as  well 
as  what  not  to  do.  And  this  latter  is  often  of  more 
importance  than  the  former. 

Many  have  to  make  up  their  minds  to  encounter 
failure  again  and  again  before  they  finally  succeed  ; 
but  if  they  have  pluck,  the  failure  will  only  serve  to 
rouse  their  energies,  and  stimulate  them  to  renewed 
efforts.  Failure  in  one  direction  has  sometimes  had 
the  effect  of  forcing  the  far-seeing  student  to  apply 
himself  in  another,  which  latter  application  has  in 
many  instances  proven  to  be  in  just  the  line  that 
they  were  fitted  for.  No  one  can  tell  how  many  of 
the  world's  most  brilliant  geniuses  have  succeeded 
because  of  their  first  failures.  Failures  in  many  in- 


558  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

stances  are  only  means  that  Providence  takes  to 
work  an  otherwise  too  pliable  disposition  into  one 
fitted  to  confront  the  stern  duties  of  life.  Even  as 
steel  is  tempered  by  heat,  and,  through  much  ham- 
mering and  changing  of  original  form,  is  at  last 
•wrought  into  useful  articles,  so  in  the  history  of 
many  men  do  we  find  that  they  were  attempered  in 
the  furnace  of  trials  and  affliction,  and  only  through 
failures  in  first  attempts  were  at  length  fitted  for  the 
ultimate  success  that  crowned  their  efforts. 

They  are  doubly  in  error  who  suffer  themselves 
to  give  up  the  battle  at  one,  or  even  two  successive, 
failures.  As  in  the  military  field  he  is  the  greater 
general  who  from  defeat  organizes  ultimate  victory, 
so  in  the  battle  of  life  he  is  the  true  hero  who, 
even  while  smarting  under  the  sting  of  present  fail- 
ure, lays  his  plans  and  summons  his  forces  for  a  tri- 
umphant victory.  We  must  not  allow  our  jaundiced 
views  to  prevail  over  our  knowledge  of  men  and 
affairs.  The  world  is  not  coming  to  an  end,  nor 
society  going  to  destruction,  because  our  petty  plans 
have  miscarried.  The  present  failure  should  only 
teach  you  to  be  more  wary  in  the  future,  and  thus 
will  you  gather  a  rich  harvest  as  the  final  outcome 
of  your  efforts. 

Above  all,  do  not  sink  into  apathy  and  despair. 
Rouse  yourself,  and  do  not  allow  your  best  years  to 
slip  past  because  you  have  not  succeeded  as  you 
thought  you  would.  Is  not  the  sun  as  bright,  na- 
ture as  smiling  as  before  ?  Why,  then,  do  you  go 
about  as  if  all  hope  had  fled  ?  Know  you  not  that 


FAILURE.  559 

"In  the  reproof  of  chance^ 
Lies  the  true  proof  of  men." 

As  in  the  physical  world,  disease  is  but  the  effort 
nature  makes  to  remove  some  pressing  evil,  so  failure 
should  be  but  the  methods  whereby  we  are  enabled 
to  eliminate  those  traits  of  character  which  are  a 
hindrance  to  our  lasting  success.  As  the  inventor 
subjects  his  production  to  the  most  rigorous  tests  in 
order  that  inherent  defects  may  become  known  and, 
if  possible,  remedied,  even  so  does  Providence,  in 
subjecting  us  to  great  trials,  discover  to  us  by  our 
failures  wherein  we  lack  ;  and  we  are  remiss  in  duty 
to  ourselves  do  we  not  most  earnestly  endeavor  to 
improve  by  these  tests  ? 

The  man  who  never  failed  is  a  myth.  Such  a 
one  never  lived,  and  is  never  likely  to.  All  success 
is  a  series  of  efforts  in  which,  when  closely  viewed, 
are  to  be  seen  more  or  less  failures.  These  efforts 
are  ofttimes  not  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  but  each 
individual  heart  is  painfully  conscious  of  how  many 
of  its  most  cherished  plans  ended  only  in  failures. 
If  you  fail  now  and  then,  do  not  be  discouraged  ; 
bear  in  mind  that  it  is  only  the  part  and  experience 
of  every  successful  man.  We  might  even  go  farther, 
and  say  that  the  most  successful  men  often  have  the 
most  failures.  These  failures,  which  to  the  feeble  are 
mere  stumbling-blocks,  to  the  strong  serve  to  remove 
the  scales  from  their  eyes,  so  that  they  now  see 
clearer,  and  go  on  their  way  with  a  firmer  tread  and 
a  more  determined  mien,  and  compel  life  to  yield  to 
them  its  most  enduring  trophies. 


560  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

The  weakling  goes  no  farther  than  his  first  fail- 
ure ;  he  lags  behind,  and  subsides  into  a  life  of  dis- 
content and  vain  regrets  ;  and  so  by  this  winnowing 
process  the  number  of  the  athletes  is  restricted  to 
few,  and  there  is  clear  space  in  the  arena  for  those 
who  determinedly  press  on.  There  can  hardly  be 
found  a  successful  man  who  will  not  admit  that  he 
was  made  so  by  failure,  and  that  what  he  once 
thought  his  hard  fate  was  in  reality  his  good  fortune. 
Success  can  not  be  gained  by  a  hop,  skip,  and  a 
jump,  but  by  arduous  passages  of  gallant  persever- 
ance, toilsome  efforts  long  sustained,  and,  most  of 
all,  by  repeated  failure  ;  for  the  failures  are  but  step- 
ping-stones, or,  at  the  worst,  non-attainment  of  the 
desired  end  before  the  time. 

If  success  were  to  crown  your  efforts  now,  where 
would  be  the  great  success  of  the  future  ?  It  is  the 
brave  resolution  to  do  better  next  time  that  lays  the 
substrata  of  all  real  greatness.  Many  a  prominent 
reputation  has  been  destroyed  by  early  success. 
Too  often  the  effect  of  such  success  is  to  sap  the 
energies.  Imagining  fame  or  fortune  'to  be  won, 
future  efforts  are  remitted  ;  relying  on  the  fame  of 
past  achievements,  the  fact  is  overlooked  that  it  is 
labor  alone  that  renders  any  success  certain ;  and  so 
by  the  remission  of  labor  and  energy,  disgrace  or 
failure  awakens  him  from  his  delusive  dreams  ;  but, 
alas  !  in  how  many  instances  the  awakening  comes 
too  late! 

There  is  no  more  prolific  source  of  repining  and 
discontent  in  life  than  that  found  in  looking  back 


FAILURE.  561 

upon  past  mistakes.  We  are  fond  of  persuading 
ourselves  and  others  that  had  others  acted  differently 
our  whole  course  in  life  would  have  been  one  of  un- 
mixed success  instead  of  the  partial  failure  that  it  so 
often  appears.  If  we  would  only  look  on  past  mis- 
takes in  the  right  spirit — in  the  spirit  of  humility, 
and  with  a  desire  to  learn  from  past  errors — it  would 
be  well ;  but  the  error  men  make  in  this  review  is  in 
attributing  the  failures  to  circumstances  instead  of  to 
character.  They  see  the  mistakes  which  lie  on  the 
surface,  but  fail  to  trace  them  back  to  the  source 
from  whence  they  spring.  The  truth  is,  that  even 
trifling  circumstances  are  the  occasions  for  bringing 
out  the  predominant  traits  of  character.  They  are 
tests  of  the  nature  and  quality  of  the  man  rather 
than  the  causes  of  future  success  or  failure. 

None  can  tell  how  weighty  may  be  the  results  of 
even  trivial  actions,  nor  how  much  of  the  future  is 
bound  up  in  our  every-day  decisions.  Chances  are 
lost,  opportunities  wasted,  advisers  ill-chosen,  and 
disastrous  speculations  undertaken,  but  there  is  noth- 
ing properly  accidental  in  these  steps.  They  are  to 
be  regarded  as  the  results  of  unbalanced  characters, 
as  much  as  the  cause  of  future  misery.  The  dispo- 
sition of  mind  that  led  to  these  errors  would  certainly, 
under  other  circumstances,  have  led  to  different,  but 
not  less  lamentable  results. 

We  see  clearly  in  judging  others.  We  attribute 
their  mischances  without  compunction  to  the  faults 
we  see  in  them,  and  sometimes  even  make  cruel 

mistakes  in  our  investigation ;  but  in  reviewing  our 
36 


562  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

own  course  self  draws  a  veil  over  our  imperfections, 
and  we  persuade  ourselves  that  mistakes  or  unfortu- 
nate circumstances  are  the  entire  cause  of  all  our 
misfortunes.  It  is  true  that  no  circumstances  are 
always  favorable,  no  training"  perfectly  judicious,  no 
friend  wholly  wise,  yet  he  who  is  always  shifting  the 
blame  of  his  failures  upon  these  external  causes  is 
the  very  man  who  has  the  most  reason  to  trace  them 
to  his  own  inherent  weakness  or  demerits. 

It  is  questionable  whether  the  habit  of  looking 
much  at  mistakes,  even  of  our  own,  is  a  very  profita- 
ble one.  It  might  be  rendered  of  use  were  we  only 
to  do  so  in  the  proper  spirit.  Certainly  the  practice 
of  mourning  over  and  bewailing  them,  and  charging 
upon  them  all  the  evils  that  afflict  us,  is  the  most 
injurious  to  our  future  course,  and  the  greatest  hin. 
drance  to  any  real  improvement  of  character.  Act^ 
ing  from  impulse,  and  not  from  reason,  is  one  of  the 
chief  causes  of  these  mistakes  ;  and  if  any  would 
avoid  them  in  the  future  they  must  test  all  their 
sudden  impulses  by  the  searching  and  penetrating 
ordeal  of  their  best  judgment  before  acting  upon 
them.  Above  all,  the  steady  formation  of  virtuous 
habits,  the  subjection  of  all  actions  to  principles 
rather  than  to  policy,  the  firm  and  unyielding  ad- 
herence to  duty,  as  far  as  it  is  known,  are  the  best 
safeguards  against  mistakes  in  life. 

Who  lives  that  has  not,  during  his  life,  aspired  to 
something  that  he  was  unable  to  reach?  The  sor- 
rows of  mankind  may  all  be  traced  to  blighted  hopes ; 
like  frost  upon  the  green  leaves  comes  the  chilling 


FAILURE.  563 

conviction  that  our  hopes  are  forever  dead.  We  may 
live,  but  he  who  has  placed  his  whole  mind  on  the 
attainment  of  some  object  and  fails  to  reach  it,  life 
to  him  seems  a  burden — a  weary  burden.  To  youth 
blighted  hopes  come  like  the  cold  dew  of  evening 
upon  the  flowers.  The  sun  next  morning  banishes 
the  clew,  and  the  flower  is  brighter  and  purer  from 
its  momentary  affliction.  Sorrow  purifies  the  heart 
of  youth  as  the  rain  purifies  the  growing  plant.  But 
to  the  man  of  mature  years  the  blighting  of  cherished 
hopes  falls  with  a  chilling  effect.  'T  is  hard  to  pro- 
ceed as  though  nothing  had  happened — to  cheerfully 
take  up  life's  load,  yet  such  is  the  course  of  true 
manhood ;  this  is  the  inheritance  of  life — the  test  of 
character. 

Our  world  presents  a  strangely  different  aspect 
according  to  the  different  moods  in  which  it  is  viewed. 
To  him  whose  efforts  have  been  crowned  with  success 
it  is  superlatively  beautiful ;  to  him  whose  life  has 
known  no  care  it  appears  to  be  filled  with  all  manner 
of  comfortable  things ;  to  those  who  pine  in  sickness 
and  suffering,  the  unfortunate,  and  those  whose-  ef- 
forts have  ended  only  in  failure,  it  most  truthfully 
seems  to  be  "a  vale  of  tears,"  and  human  life  itself 
a  bubble  raised  from  those  tears  and  inflated  with 
sighs,  which,  after  floating  a  little  while,  decked,  it 
may  be,  with  a  few  gaudy  colors  from  the  hand  of 
fortune,  is  at  last  touched  by  the  hand  of  death, 
and  .dissolves. 

He  who  has  a  stout  heart  will  do  stout-hearted 
actions — actions  which,  however  unconscious  the  doer 


564  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

may  be  of  the  fact,  can  not  fail  to  have  something  of 
immortality  in  their  essence  —  something  that  in  all 
coming  time  will  preserve  alive  their  memory  long 
-after  the  valiant  doer  has  lain  in  dust.  Such  a  man 
will  not  be  daunted  by  difficulties.  Opposition  will 
but  serve  as  fuel  to  the  fire  which  feeds  the  spirit 
of  self-reliance  within  him,  stimulating  him  to  still 
greater  efforts,  and,  in  fact,  creating  opportunities 
for  them.  And  though,  in  the  nature  of  things,  fail- 
ure must  often  be  his  portion,  still  they  will  nerve 
him  anew  for  the  struggles  of  active  life,  and  endow 
him  with  courage  to  meet  the  further  disappointments 
which  past  experience  will  have  taught  him  are  likely 
to  be  his  lot. 

Neither  will  he,  in  his  efforts  to  attain  some  great 
end,  to  bring  to  happy  accomplishment  some  noble 
work,  be  daunted  by  the  reflection  that  he  can  never 
be  sure  of  success  even  in  enterprises  springing 
from  the  highest  motives  and  steadfastly  pursued  at 
the  cost  of  all  that  is  dearest.  To  him  it  will  suffice 
that  the  end  he  has  in  view  is  the  right  one,  and 
that  if  he  is  not  destined  to  accomplish  it  eventually 
it  must  triumph.  With  prophetic  eye  he  looks  for- 
ward to  the  dawning  of  the  time  when,  long  after  he 
has  been  called  hence,  posterity  shall  enter  into  his 
labor  and  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  that  he  has 
planted. 


DESPONDENCY.  565 


"The  darkest  day, 
Live  till  to-morrow,  will  have  passed  away." 

!  HE  RE  are  dark  hours  that  mark  the  history  of 
the  brightest  years.  For  not  a  whole  month 
in  any  one  of  the  thousand  of  the  past,  per- 
haps, has  the  sun  shone  brilliantly  all  the  time. 
And  there  have  been  cold  and  stormy  days  in  every 
year,  and  yet  the  mists  and  shadows  of  the  darkest 
hours  were  dissipated  and  flitted  heedlessly  away. 
In  the  wide  world  also  we  have  the  overshadowing 
of  dark  hours.  There  were  hours  of  despondency 
when  Shakespeare  thought  himself  no  poet  and 
Raphael  no  painter,  when  the  greatest  wits  doubted 
the  excellence  of  their  happiest  efforts. 

But  we  have  also  bright  days  to  offset  the  sad 
ones.  Though  there  are  the  dark  ones,  when  the 
fire  will  neither  burn  on  our  hearths  nor  our  hearts, 
and  all  without  and  within  is  dismal  and  dark,  there 
come  days  when  we  rejoice  in  the  brightness  of  hope 
and  prosperity.  It  is  human  nature  to  look  upon 
only  the  bright  and  cheery  scenes  of  life,  to  forget 
its  trials  and  storms  in  the  light  of  the  present.  But 
let  us  not  forget  that  there  will  come  other  moments, 
when  the  eye  will  be  less  calm,  the  cheek  less  bright, 
and  the  tongue  less  silent;  the  brain  will  be  full  of 
imaginings,  pensive  and  sad,  its  inmost  springs  less 
elastic  and  buoyant. 


566  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Despondency  too  long  continued  gives  place  to 
despair.  No  calamity  can  produce  such  a  paralysis 
of  the  mind.  It  is  the  capstone  of  the  climax  of 
human  misery.  The  mental  powers  are  frozen  with 
indifference,  the  heart  becomes  ossified  with  melan 
dioly,  the  soul  is  shrouded  in  a  cloud  of  gloom. 
No  words  of  consolation,  no  cheerful  repartee  can 
break  the  death-like  calm ;  no  love  can  warm  the 
pent-up  heart,  no  sunbeam  dispel  the  dark  cloud. 
Time  may  effect  a  change ;  death  will  break  the 
monotony.  We  can  extend  our  kindness,  but  can 
not  relieve  the  victim.  We  may  trace  the  cause  of 
this  awful  disease ;  God  only  can  effect  a  cure.  We 
may  speculate  upon  its  nature,  but  can  not  feel  its 
force  until  its  iron  hand  is  laid  upon  us.  We  may 
call  it  weakness,  but  can  not  prove  or  demonstrate 
the  proposition.  We  may  call  it  folly,  but  can  point 
to  no  frivolity  to  sustain  our  position.  We  may  call  it 
madness,  but  can  discover  no  maniac  action.  We 
may  call  it  stubborness,  but  can  see  no  exhibition  of 
indocility.  We  may  call  it  lunacy,  but  can  not  per- 
ceive the  incoherence  of  that  unfortunate  condition. 
We  can  properly  call  it  nothing  but  dark,  gloomy 
despair,  an  inexpressible  numbness  of  all  the  sensi- 
bilities rendering  a  man  happy. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  happy  providence  that  has  given  to 
mankind  the  bright,  shining  sun  of  hope  to  dispel 
the  gloom  of  despondency.  We  have  all  seen  the 
sun  burst  from  behind  the  clouds  and  light  up  a 
storm-swept  landscape.  Even  so,  when  the  hand  of 
misfortune  has  darkened  our  brightest  prospects  and 


DESPONDENCY.  567 

swept  away  our  sunlit  dreams  of  future  happiness, 
has  some  unseen  monitor  inspired  our  drooping  spirit 
with  hope  and  bid  us  struggle  on ;  and  as  we  look 
forward  into  the  future  fancy  points  us  to  a  brighter 
day's  dawning.  When  the  soul  is  often  bowed  down 
with  the  weight  of  its  own  sorrows  and  the  heart  is 
well-nigh  crushed,  even  then  some  faint  glimmering 
of  a  happier  future  steals  upon  it  like  a  rainbow 
of  light. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  many  do  not  as  resolutely 
fight  against  fits  of  despondency  as  they  might. 
Many  fits  of  the  blues  need  but  to  be  resolutely 
contended  against,  and  they  will  disappear;  harbored, 
they  will  grow  into  despondency  and  despair.  It  is 
worth  while  to  remember  that  fortune  is  like  the 
skies  in  April,  sometimes  clouded  and  sometimes 
clear  and  favorable,  and  it  would  be  folly  to  de- 
spair of  again  seeing  the  sun  because  to-day  is 
stormy.  So  it  is  equally  unwise  to  sink  into  de- 
spondency when  fortune  frowns,  since  in  the  common 
course  of  things  she  may  be  surely  expected  to  smile 
again.  • 

Life  is  a  warfare,  and  he  who  easily  desponds  de- 
serts a  double  duty — he  betrays  the  noblest  property 
of  man,  his  dauntless  resolution,  and  he  rejects  the 
providence  of  God,  who  guides  and  rules  the  uni- 
verse. There  is  but  one  way  of  looking  at  fate — 
whatever  that  .may  be,  whether  blessings  or  afflic- 
tions— to  behave  with  dignity  under  both.  We  must 
not  lose  heart,  or  it  will  be  the  worse,  both  for 
ourselves  and  for  those  whom  we  love.  To  struggle, 


5G8  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  again  and  again  to  renew  the  conflict  —  this  is 
life's  inheritance. 

Do  not,  then,  allow  yourself  to  sink  into  despond- 
ency. Man  is  born  a  hero,  and  it  is  only  by  darkness 
and  storms  that  heroism  gains  its  greatest  and  best 
development  and  illustrations ;  then  it  kindles  the 
black  cloud  into  a  blaze  of  glory,  and  the  storm 
bears  it  to  its  destiny.  Despair  not,  then.  Morti- 
fying failures  may  attend  this  effort  and  that  one,  but 
only  be  honest  and  struggle  on,  and  it  will  all  work 
out  right  in  the  end.  Do  not  make  the  mistake, 
either,  of  supposing  that  despondency  is  a  state  of 
humility ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  vexation  and  de- 
spair of  a  cowardly  pride  ;  nothing  is  worse  ;  whether 
we  stumble  or  whether  we  fall,  we  must  only  think 
of  rising  again,  and  going  on  in  our  course. 

Do  your  work,  then ;  only  let  it  be  a  noble  one. 
Be  faithful  to  your  trust.  If  you  have  but  one  talent 
improve  it;  do  not  bury  it  in  the  earth  because  you 
have  not  ten.  Toil  steadily  and  hopefully  on,  for  life 
is  too  short  to  admit  of  delay  or  despondency.  Let 
those  who  are  in  sorrow  remember  that  deliverance 
may  be  coming,  though  they  see  it  not.  Your  days 
may  wear  more  gold  in  the  morning,  and  more  at 
night,  though  the  midday  be  full  of  snow.  God 
may  be  gracious,  though  he  comes  to  us  robed  in 
darkness  and  clothed  in  storms.  It  is  a  journey  of 
release  towards  the  Spring  when  Winter  is  coldest 
and  darkest.  Despondency  is  but  the  shadow  of  too 
much  happiness  thrown  by  our  spirits  upon  the 
sunshiny  side  of  life.  Look  up,  and  God  will  give 


DESPONDENCY.  569 

you  a  song  in  your  heart  instead  of  a  tear  in 
your  eye. 

Causeless  depression  of  spirits  is  not  to  be  rea- 
soned with,  nor  can  even  David's  harp  charm  it  away 
by  sweet  discoursings.  As  well  fight  with  the  mists 
as  with  this  shapeless,  undefinable,  yet  all-beclouding, 
hopelessness.  Yet  we  are  familiar  with  many  such 
instances  in  practical,  every-day  life.  Many  who 
have  much  to  be  thankful  for  are  full  of  complaint. 
Such  disposition  is  no  less  unfortunate  than  it  is 
reprehensible.  They  make  miserable  not  only  their 
own  life,  but  also  the  lives  of  those  with  whom  they 
are  in  daily  contact.  No  doubt  the  one  given  over 
to  causeless  melancholy  feels  a  full  weight  of  sorrow, 
and  those  who  laugh  at  his  grief,  could  they  but  ex- 
perience it,  would  quickly  be  sobered  into  compassion. 
What  is  wanted  is  a  firm  reliance  on  Providence,  and 
a  determination  to  do  your  duty ;  then  go  forward 
bravely  and  cheerfully,  resolutely  fight  against  this 
disposition.  Your  life  will  be  much  happier. 

The  trouble  is,  that  many  of  us,  when  we  are 
under  any  affliction,  are  troubled  with  a  certain  ma- 
licious melancholy.  We  only  dwell  and  pore  upon 
the  sad  and  dark  occurrences  of  Providence,  but 
never  take  notice  of  the  more  benign  and  bright 
ones.  Our  way  in  this  world  is,  like  a  walk  under  a 
row  of  trees,  checkered  with  light  and  shade,  and, 
because  we  can  not  all  along  walk  in  the  sunshine, 
we,  therefore,  perversely  fix  upon  the  darker  pas- 
sages, and  so  lose  all  the  comfort  of  the  cheering 
ones.  We  are  like  frow^rd  children,  who,  if  you 


570  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

take  one  of  their  playthings  from  them,  throw  away 
all  the  rest  in  spite.  What  a  pitiable  confession  is 
this  of  human  weakness !  Let  us,  then,  strive  against 
such  a  spirit  of  despondency.  Even  when  the  way 
before  us  is  both  dark  and  dreary  it  still  is  worse 
than  useless  to  give  way  to  despondency.  Think 
not  that  you  are  forsaken ;  you  have  much  still  to 
make  life  enjoyable.  Energy  and  proper  application 
may  recover  what  you  have  lost ;  take  heart ;  pluck 
up  courage ;  give  not  over  to  despondency ;  by  res- 
olutely confronting  the  evils  of  life  they  will  lose  their 
force. 


"  Faith  is  the  subtle  chain 
'That  binds  us  to  the  infinite;  the  voice 
Of  a  deep  life  within,  that  will  remain 
Until  we  crowd  it  thence." 

1|AITH  is  the  true  prophet  of  the  soul,  and  ever 
beholds  a  spiritual  life,  spiritual  relations,  la- 
bors, and  joys.  Its  office  is  to  teach  man  that 
he  is  a  spiritual  being,  that  he  has  an  inward 
life  enshrined  in  this  material  encasement — an 
immortal  gem  set  now  in  an  earthly  casket.  •  It  as- 
sures man  that  he  lives  not  for  this  life  alone,  but  for 
another  superior  to  this,  more  glorious  and  real. 
It  teaches  that  God  is  a  spirit,  and  seeks  to  wor- 
ship him  as  such.  It  dignifies  humanity  with  immor- 


FAITH.  571 

tality.  It  dwells  ever  upon  an  unseen  world,  an- 
nouncing always  that  unseen  realities  are  eternal. 

A  living,  active  faith  is  not  only  a  necessity,  if 
we  would  reap  great  good,  but  it  is  so  founded  on 
the  nature  of  things  that  it  is  natural  for  men  to 
have  a  faith  in  the  promises  of  others.  It  is  only 
from  experience  that  the  little  child  learns  to  distrust 
others.  Then,  there  is  the  faith  in  one's  own  powers. 
This  is  as  necessary  a  form  of  faith  as  any,  and 
where  not  allowed  to  degenerate  into  egotism  is  a 
most  beneficent  form  of  faith.  Its  true  foundation  is 
the  same  as  any  faith ;  that  is,  reliance  on  God's 
promises.  "As  ye  sow,  so  shall  ye  reap."  Hence, 
relying  on  this,  and  putting  forth  the  necessary  exer- 
tions, why  not  confidently  expect  a  fulfillment  of  the 
promise?  This  is  the  germ  of  all  true  self-reliance. 

A  true  faith  we  can  somehow  reach  all  through 
life,  and  it  will  bring  to  the  soul  a  rich  meed  of  con- 
solation, even  in  the  shades  of  life.  We  can  cherish 
a  sure  hope  about  our  future  and  the  future  of  those 
that  belong  to  us — a  sunny,  eager  onlooking  toward 
the  fulfillment  of  all  the  promises  God  has  written 
on  our  nature.  We  should  have  faith  in  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  the  good  and  the  true.  It  is  quite 
the  fashion  of  the  times  to  lament  over  the  degener- 
acy of  the  present,  and  to  think  of  the  palmy  day 
long  since  past.  We  have  indeed  read  history  to 
but  little  account  do  we  not  realize  that  the  world  is 
growing  better,  and  feel  confident  of  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  the  forces  of  good. 

Life  grows  darker  as  we  go  on,  till  only  one  pure 


572  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

light  is  left  shining  on  it,  and  that  is  faith.  Old  age, 
like  solitude  and  sorrow,  has  its  revelations.  It  is 
then  that  we  perceive  the  hollowness  and  emptiness 
of  many  of  the  bubbles  we  have  been  pursuing. 
Fortunate  is  he  who  in  that  hour  can  rest  down  on 
the  promise  of  God  with  a  steadfast  faith.  When 
in  your  last  hour  all  faculty  in  your  broken  spirit 
shall  fade  away,  and  sink  into  inanity — imagination, 
thought,  effort,  enjoyment,  all  fade  away — then  will 
the  flower  of  belief,  which  blossoms  even  in  the 
night,  remain  to  refresh  you  with  its  fragrance  in  the 
last  darkness. 

Morality  as  a  guiding  light  to  man  sometimes 
conduces  to  noble  ends.  It  is  sometimes  so  resplen- 
dent as  to  make  a  man  walk  through  life  amid  glory 
and  acclamation  ;  but  it  is  apt  to  burn  very  dimly  and 
low  when  carried  into  the  "valley  of  the  shadow  of. 
death."  But  faith  is  like  the  evening  star,  shining 
into  our  souls,  the  more  gloomy  is  the  night  of  death 
in  which  they  sink.  Surrounded  by  friends  and  the 
comforts  of  life,  morality  appears  sufficient ;  but  when 
the  storms  of  life  blow  upon  us,  then  we  see  how 
necessary  to  us  is  a  faith  in  God's  Word  and  his 
promises.  Its  light  only  is  capable  of  dispelling  the 
gloom  of  our  surroundings. 

Never  yet  did  there  exist  a  full  faith  which  did 
not  expand  the  intellect  while  it  purified  the  heart, 
which  did  not  multiply  the  aims  and  objects  of  the 
understanding  while  it  fixed  and  simplified  those  of 
the  desires  and  passions.  Faith  often  builds  in  the 
dungeon  and  lazar-house  its  sublimest  shrine,  and 


FAITH.  573 

up  through  roofs  of  stone,  that  shut  out  the  eye  of 
heaven,  ascends  the  ladder  of  prayer,  where  the  angels 
glide  to  and  fro.  Faith  is  the  key  that  unlocks  the 
cabinet  of  God's  treasures,  the  messenger  from  the 
celestial  world  to  bring  all  the  supplies  that  we  need. 
It  converses  with  angels  and  antedates  the  hymns  of 
glory.  To  every  man  this  grace  is  certain  that  there 
are  glories  for  him  if  he  walks  by  faith  and  perseveres 
in  duty.  Faith  is  a  homely,  private  capital,  as  there 
are  public  savings-banks  and  poor  funds,  out  of  which 
in  times  of  need  we  can  relieve  the  necessities  of 
individuals ;  so  here  the  faithful  take  their  coin 
in  peace. 

A  Christian  builds  his  fortitude  on  a  better  foun- 
dation than  stoicism.  He  is  pleased  with  .every 
thing  that  happens,  because  he  knows  it  could  not 
have  happened  unless  it  first  pleased  God,  and  that 
which  pleases  him  must  be  the  best.  He  is  assured 
that  no  new  thing  can  befall  him,  and  that  he  is  in 
the  hands  of  a  Father  who  will  prove  him  with  no 
affliction  that  resignation  can  not  conquer  or  that 
death  can  not  cure.  In  the  darkest  night  faith  sees 
a  star,  in  the  times  of  greatest  need  finds  a  helping 
hand,  and  in  the  times  of  sorest  trouble  hears  a 
sympathizing  voice. 

Judge  not  a  man  by  his  outward  manifestation  of 
faith,  for  some  there  are  who  tremblingly  reach  out 
shaking  hands  to  the  guidance  of  faith  ;  others  who 
stoutly  venture  in  the  dark  their  human  confidence, 
the  leader  which  they  mistake  for  faith ;  some  whose 
hope  totters  upon  crutches;  others  who  stalk  into 


574  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

futurity  upon  stilts.  Faith  is  not  an  exotic  that  grows 
in  but  one  clime.  The  snows  of  an  eternal  Winter  can 
not  quench  its  fire,  neither  can  the  glow  of  a  tropical 
sun  destroy  its  life  and  freshness.  In  the  palace 
of  the  king  or  the  hut  of  the  peasant,  in  the  homes 
of  the  rich  or  the  cabins  of  the  poor  it  emits  its  fra- 
grance with  equal  powers  to  please.  It  is  as  neces- 
sary to  the  learned  as  to  the  ignorant,  and  comforts 
alike  the  declining  years  of  the  sage  and  him  who 
never  knew  the  value  of  education. 

As  the  flower  is  before  the  fruit,  so  is  faith  before 
good  works.  He  who  has  strong  faith  will  show  his 
faith  by  his  works.  If  he  has  faith  in  himself  he 
shows  it  by  ambitious  plans,  resolves,  and  endeavors. 
A  true  faith  is  necessary  to  enable  us  to  make  the 
most  of  life  and  its  possibilities.  We  need  a  faith 
in  our  fellow-men.  In  all  the  ordinary  business 
transactions  we  must  exercise  this  virtue  or  accom- 
plish nothing.  Did  you  ever  reflect  what  this  world 
would  be  were  all  faith  destroyed?  Faith  and  confi- 
dence are  synonymous  terms.  What  a  wilderness 
would  this  be  were  the  confidence  which  exists  be- 
tween husband  and  wife  destroyed  or  did  not  mutual 
confidence  exist  between  the  members  of  the  same 
family  circle  !  Home  would  cease  to  be  home  ;  family 
ties  would  prove  to  be  bonds  of  straw;  communities 
could  not  be  held  together  ;  the  vast  fabric  of  society 
would  dissolve,  and  smiling  countries  would  once 
more  be  the  abode  of  savages.  Too  great  a  confi- 
dence bespeaks  a  trusting  simplicity  suited  only  for 
childish  years.  But  an  utterly  incredulous  nature, 


WORSHIP.  575 

refusing1  to  believe  unless  supported  by  the  evidence 
of  his  own  senses,  as  certainly  portrays  the  selfish, 
narrow,  and  bigoted  nature  as  that  fields  of  waving 
grain  are  proof  positive  of  fertile  soil,  the  shining 
sun,  and  the  early  and  later  rain. 


fRAYER  is  the  key  to  open  the  day,  and  the 
bolt  to  shut  in  the  night.  But  as  the  sky  drops 
the  early  clew  and  the  evening  dew  upon  the 
grass,  yet  it  would  not  spring  and  grow  green 
by  that  constant  and  double  falling  of  the  dew,  unless 
some  great  shower  at  certain  seasons  did  supply  the 
rest,  so  the  customary  devotion  of  prayer  twice  a  day 
is  the  falling  of  the  early  and  the  latter  dew.  But  if 
you  will  increase  and  flourish  in  works  of  grace, 
empty  the  great  clouds  sometimes,  and  let  fall  in  a 
full  shower  of  prayer.  Choose  out  seasons  when 
prayer  shall  overflow  like  Jordan  in  times  of  harvest. 
Real  inward  devotion  knows  no  prayer  but  that 
arising  from  the  depths  of  its  own  feeling.  Perfect 
prayer,  without  a  spot  or  blemish,  though  not  a  word 
be  spoken  and  no  phrases  known  to  mankind  be 
uttered,  always  plucks  the  heart  out  of  the  earth, 
and  moves  it  softly,  like  a  censer,  to' and  fro  beneath 
the  face  of  heaven.  A  good  man's  prayer  will,  from 
the  deepest  dungeon,  climb  heaven's  height,  and 
bring  a  blessing  down.  Prayer  is  the  wing  where- 


576  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

with  the  soul  flies  to  heaven,  and  meditation  the  eye 
wherewith  we  see  God. 

He  that  acts  toward  men  as  if  God  saw  him,  and 
prays  to  God  as  if  men  heard  him,  although  he  may 
not  obtain  all  that  he  asks,  or  succeed  in  all  that  he 
undertakes,  will  most  probably  deserve  to  do  so ; 
for,  with  respect  to  his  actions  toward  men,  however 
much  he  may  fail  with  regard  to  others,  yet  if  pure 
and  good,  with  regard  to  himself  and  his  highest  in- 
terests they  can  not  fail.  And  with  respect  to  his 
prayers  to  God,  though  they  can  not  make  the  Deity 
more  willing  to  give,  yet  they  will,  and  must,  make 
the  suppliant  more  worthy  to  receive. 

Between  the  humble  and  contrite  heart  and  the 
Majesty  of  heaven  there  are  no  barriers.  The  only 
password  is  prayer.  Prayer  is  a  shield  to  the  sword, 
a  sacrifice  to  God,  and  a  scourge  to  Satan.  Prayer 
has  a  right  to  the  word  "ineffable."  It  is  an  hour 
of  outpouring  which  words  can  not  express — of  that 
interior  speech  which  we  do  not  articulate  even  when 
we  employ  it.  The  very  cry  of  distress  is  an  invol- 
untary appeal  to  that  invisible  Power  whose  aid  the: 
soul  invokes.  Our  prayer  and  God's  mercy  are  like 
two  buckets  in  a  well  ;  while  one  ascends  the  other 
descends. 

For  the  most  part,  we  should  pray  rather  in  as- 
piration than  petition,  rather  by  hoping  than  request- 
ing ;  in  which  spirit,  also,  we  may  breathe  a  devout 
wish  for  a  blessing  on  others  upon  occasions  when  it 
might  be  presumptuous  to  beg  it.  Prayer  is  not  elo- 
quence, but  earnestness  ;  not  the  definition  of  help- 


WORSHIP.  577 

lessness,  but  the  feeling  it;  not  figures  of  speech, 
but  compunction  of  soul.  When  the  heart  is  full, 
when  bitter  thoughts  come  crowding  thickly  up  for 
utterance,  and  the  poor  common  words  of  courtesy 
are  such  a  very  mockery,  how  much  the  bursting 
heart  may  relieve  itself  in  prayer  ! 

The  dullest  observer  must  be  sensible  of  the 
order  and  serenity  prevalent  in  those  households 
where  the  occasional  exercise  of  a  beautiful  form  of 
worship  in  the  morning  gives,  as  it  were,  the  key- 
note to  every  temper  for  the  day,  and  attunes  every 
spirit  to  harmony.  Family  worship  embodies  a  hal- 
lowing influence  that  pleads  for  its  observance.  It 
must  needs  be  that  trials  will  enter  a  household. 
The  conflict  of  wishes,  the  clashing  of  views,  and  a 
thousand  other  causes,  will  ruffle  the  temper,  and 
produce  jar  and  friction  in  the  machinery  of  the 
family. 

There  is  needed  some  daily  agency  that  shall 
softly  enfold  the  homestead  with  its  hallowed,  sooth- 
ing power,  and  restore  the  fine  harmonious  play  of 
its  various  parts.  The  father  needs  that  which  shall 
gently  lift  away  from  his  thoughts  the  disquieting 
burden  of  his  daily  business  ;  the  mother,  which  will 
smooth  down  the  fretting  irritation  of  her  unceasing 
toil  and  trial  ;  and  the  child  and  domestic,  that  which 
shall  neutralize  the  countless  agencies  of  evil  that 
ever  beset  them.  And  what  so  well  adapted  to  do 
this  as,  when  the  day  is  done,  to  gather  around  the 
holy  page,  and  pour  a  united  supplication  and  ac- 
knowledgment to  that  sleepless  Power  whose  protec- 

37 


578  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

tion  and  security  are  ever  around  their  path,  and  who 
will  bring  all  things  at  last  into  judgment  ? 

And  when  darker  and  sadder  days  begin  to 
shadow  the  home,  what  can  cheer  and  brighten  the 
sinking  heart  so  finely  as  this  daily  resort  to  the 
fatherly  One,  who  can  make  the  tears  of  the  lowliest 
sorrow  to  be  the  seed-pearls  of  the  brightest  crown  ? 
The  mind  is  thus  expanded,  the  heart  softened,  sen- 
timents refined,  passions  subdued,  hopes  elevated, 
and  pursuits  ennobled.  The  greatest  want  of  our 
intellectual  and  moral  nature  is  here  met,  and  home 
education  becomes  impregnated  with  the  spirit  and 
elements  of  our  preparation  for  eternity. 

•  The  custom  of  having  family  prayers  is  held  in 
honor  wherever  there  is  real  Christian  life,  and  it  is 
the  one  thing  which  more  than  any  other  knits  to- 
gether the  loose  threads  of  a  home,  and  unites  its 
various  members  before  God.  The  religious  service 
in  which  parents,  children,  and  friends  daily  join  in 
praise  and  prayer  is  at  once  an  acknowledgment  of 
dependence  on  the  Heavenly  Father  and  a  renewal 
of  consecration  to  his  work  in  the  world.  The  Bible 
is  read,  the  hymn  is  sung,  the  petition  is  offered,  and 
unless  all  has  been  done  as  a  mere  formality  and 
without  hearty  assent,  those  who  have  gathered  at 
the  family  altar  leave  it  helped,  soothed,  strengthened, 
and  armored  as  they  were  not  before  they  met  there. 
The  sick  and  the  absent  are  remembered,  the  tempted 
and  the  tried  are  commended  to  God,  and,  as  the 
Israelites  in  the  desert  were  attended  by  the  pillar 
and  cloud,  so  in  life's  wilderness  the  family  who 


WORSHIP.    •  579 

inquire  of  the  Lord  are  constantly  overshadowed 
by  his  presence  and  love. 

We,  ignorant  of  ourselves,  may  ask  in  prayer  for 
what  would  be  to  our  injury,  which  the  Father  denies 
us  for  our  own  good  ;  so  find  we  profit  by  losing,  of 
our  prayers.  Or  we  may  even  pray  for  trifles,  with- 
out so  much  as  a  thought  of  the  greatest  blessings. 
And,  with  sorrow  be  it  said,  we  are  not  ashamed 
many  times  to  ask  God  for  that  which  we  should 
blush  to  own  to  our  neighbors.  It  is  by  reason  of 
the  worthlessness  of  so  many  of  our  petitions  that 
they  remain  unanswered.  Good  prayers  never  come 
creeping  home.  We  are  sure  we  shall  receive  either 
what  we  ask  or  what  we  should  ask.  Prayer  is  a 
study  of  truth,  a  sally  of  the  soul  into  the  infinite. 
No  man  ever  prayed  heartily  without  learning  some- 
thing. 

It  is  for  the  sake  of  man,  not  of  God,  that  wor- 
ship and  prayer  are  required.  Not  that  God  may 
be  rendered  more  gracious,  but  that  man  may  be 
made  better,  that  he  may  be  confirmed  in  a  proper 
sense  of  his  dependent  state,  and  acquire  those 
pious  and  virtuous  dispositions  in  which  his  highest 
improvement  consists.  When  we  pray  for  any  vir- 
tues we  should  cultivate  the  virtue  as  well  as  pray 
for  it.  The  form  of  your  life,  every  petition  to  God, 
is  a  precept  to  man.  Our  thoughts,  like  the  waters 
of  the  sea,  when  exhaled  toward  heaven  lose  all  their 
bitterness  and  saltness,  and  sweeten  into  an  amiable 
humanity,  until  they  descend  in  gentle  showers  of 
love  and  kindness  upon  our  fellow-men. 


580  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

God  respecteth  not  the  arithmetic  of  our  pray- 
ers, how  many  they  are;  nor  the  rhetoric  of  our 
prayers,  how  neat  they  are;  nor  the  geometry  of 
our  prayers,  how  long  they  are  ;  nor  the  music  pray- 
ers, how  melodious  they  are ;  nor  the  logic  prayers, 
how  methodical  they  are :  but  the  divinity  of  our 
prayers,  how  heart-sprung  they  are — not  gifts,  but 
graces  prevail  in  prayer.  We  should  pray  with  as 
much  earnestness  as  those  who  expect  every  thing 
from  God,  and  act  with  as  much  energy  as  those  who 
expect  every  thing  from  themselves. 

It  is  possible  to  have  a  daily  worship  which  shall 
be  earnest,  vivifying,  tender  and  reverential,  and  yet 
a  weariness  to  nobody.  Only  let  the  one  who  con- 
ducts it  mean  toward  the  Father  the  sweet  obedience 
of  the  grateful  child,  and  maintain  the  attitude  of 
one  who  goes  about  earthly  affairs  with  a  soul  look- 
ing beyond  and  above  them  to  the  rest  that  remaineth 
in  heaven.  It  is  not  every  one  who  is  able  to  pray  in 
the  hearing  of  others  with  ease.  The  timid  tongue 
falters,  and  the  thoughts  struggle  in  vain  for  utter- 
ance. But  who  is  there  who  can  not  read  a  psalm 
or  a  chapter  or  a  cluster  of  verses,  and  kneeling 
repeat  in  accents  of  tender  trust  the  Lord's  prayer  ? 
When  we  think  of  it  that  includes  every  thing. 


RELIGION.  581 


RELIGION  is  the  moral  link  that  binds  man  most 
closely  with  his  God — the  spiritual  garden  where 
the  creature  walks  in  companionship  with  his 
Maker.  This  sentiment  is  the  highest  that  man 
is  capable  of  cherishing,  since  it  binds  him  to  a  being 
fitted  as  no  other  being  is  to  impart  to  the  soul  the 
highest  moral  grandeur  that  created  beings  can  en- 
joy. It  is  the  upper  window  of  the  soul,  which  opens 
into  the  clear,  radiant  light  of  God's  eternal  home. 
Its  influence  in  every  department  of  the  mind  is 
salutary  and  holy;  no  faculty  can  rise  to  its  most 
exalted  state  without  the  sanctifying  power  of  this 
sentiment.  Neglect  it  not;  the  highest  beauties  of 
your  souls,  the  finishing  touch  of  your  character,  the 
sweetest  charm  of  your  life,  will  be  given  by  due 
attention  to  this,  your  first  and  last  duty. 

If  men  have  been  termed  pilgrims,  and  life  a 
journey,  then  we  may  add  that  the  Christian  pil- 
grimage far  surpasses  all  others  in  the  following 
important  particulars  :  In  the  goodness  of  the  road ; 
in  the  beauty  of  the  prospect ;  in  the  excellence  of 
the  company,  and  in  the  rich  rewards  waiting  the 
traveler  at  the  journey's  end.  All  who  have  been 
great  and  good  without  Christianity  would  have  been 
much  greater  and  better  with  it.  True  religion  is 
the  poetry  of  the  heart ;  it  has  enchantment,  useful 
to  our  manners ;  it  gives  us  both  happiness  and 
virtue. 


582  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

True  religion  hath  in  it  nothing  weak,  nothing 
sad,  nothing  constrained.  It  enlarges  the  heart,  is 
simple,  free,  and  attractive.  It  enables  us  to  bear 
the" sorrows  of  life,  and  it  lessens  the  pangs  of  death. 
It  is  the  coronet  by  token  of  which  God  makes  you 
a  princess  in  his  family  and  an  heir  to  his  brightest 
glories,  the  sweetest  pleasures,  the  noblest  privileges, 
and  the  brightest  honors  of  his  kingdom.  It  is  a 
star  which  beams  the  brighter  in  heaven  the  darker 
on  earth  grows  the  night. 

When  the  rising  sun  shed  its  rays  on  Memnon's 
statue  it  awakened  music  in  the  heart  of  stone.  Re- 
ligion does  the  same  with  nature.  Without  religion 
you  are  a  wandering  star.  You  are  a  voiceless  bird. 
You  are.  a  motionless  brook.  The  strings  of  your 
heart  are  not  in  tune  with  the  chords  which  the 
Infinite  hand  sweeps  as  he  evolves  the  music  of  the 
universe.  Your  being  does  not  respond  to  the  touch 
of  Providence,  and  if  beauty  and  truth  and  goodness 
come  down  to  you  like  angels  out  of  heaven  and  sing 
you  their  sweetest  songs,  you  do  not  see  their  wings, 
nor  recognize  their  home  and  parentage. 

True  religion  and  virtue  give  a  cheerful  and  happy 
turn  to  the  mind,  admit  of  all  real  joys,  and  even 
procure  for  us  the  highest  pleasures.  While  it  seems 
to  have  no  other  object  than  the  felicity  of  another 
life  it  constitutes  the  chief  happiness  of  the  present. 
There  are  no  principles  but  those  of  religion  to  be 
depended  on  in  cases  of  real  distress,  and  these  are 
able  to  encounter  the  worst  emergencies  and  to  bear 
us  up  under  all  the  changes  and  chances  to  which 


RELIGION.  583 

our  life  is  subject.  The  difficulties  of  life  teach  us 
wisdom,  its  vainglories  humility,  its  calumnies  pity, 
its  hopes  resignation,  its  sufferings  charity,  its  afflic- 
tions fortitude,  its  necessities  prudence,  its  brevity 
the  value  of  time,  and  its  dangers  and  uncertainties 
a  constant  dependence  upon  a  higher  and  all-protect- 
ing power. 

All  natural  results  are  spontaneous.  The  diamond 
sparkles  without  effort,  and  the  flowers  open  natu- 
rally beneath  the  Summer  rain.  Religion  is  also  a 
natural  thing — as  spontaneous  as  it  is  to  weep,  to 
love,  or  to  rejoice.  There  is  not  a  heart  but  has  its 
moments  of  longing — yearning  for  something  better, 
nobler,  holier,  than  it  knows  now  ;  this  bespeaks  the 
religious  aspiration  of  every  heart.  Genius  without 
religion  is  only  a  lamp  on  the  outer  gate  of  a  palace. 
It  may  serve  to  cast  a  gleam  of  light  on  those  that 
are  without,  while  the  inhabitant  sits  in  darkness. 

Religion  is  not  proved  and  established  by  logic. 
It  is,  of  all  the  mysteries  of  nature  and  the  human 
mind,  the  most  mysterious  and  most  inexplicable.  It 
is  of  instinct,  and  not  of  reason.  It  is  a  matter  of 
feeling,  and  not  of  opinion.  Religion  is  placing  the 
soul  in  harmony  with  God  and  his  laws.  God  is  the 
perfect  supreme  soul,  and  your  souls  are  made  in  the 
image  of  his,  and,  like  all  created  things,  are  subject 
to  certain  mutable  laws.  The  transgression  of  these 
laws  damages  your  souls — warps  them,  stunts  their 
growth,  outrages  them. 

You  can  only  be  manly  or  attain  to  a  manly 
growth  by  preserving  your  true  relations  and  strict 


584  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

obedience  to  the  laws  of  your  being.  God  has  given 
you  appetites,  and  he  meant  that  they  should  be  to 
you  a  source  of  happiness,  but  always  in  a  way 
which  shall  not  interfere  with  your  spiritual  growth 
and  development.  He  gave  you  desires  for  earthly 
happiness.  He  planted  in  you  the  love  of  human 
praise,  enjoyment  of  society,  the  faculty  of  finding  hap- 
piness in  all  of  his  works.  He  gave  you  his  works 
to  enjoy,  but  you  can  only  enjoy  them  truly  when 
you  regard  them  as  blessings  from  the  great  Giver 
to  feed,  and  not  starve,  your  higher  nature.  There 
is  not  a  true  joy  in  life  which  you  are  required  to 
deprive  yourself  of  in  being  faithful  to  him  and  his 
laws.  Without  obedience  to  law  yor.r  soul  can  not 
be  healthful,  and  it  is  only  to  a  healthful  soul  that 
pleasure  comes  with  its  natural,  its  divine,  aroma. 

Some  well-meaning  Christians  tremble  for  their 
salvation,  because  they  have  never  gone  through  that 
valley  of  tears  and  of  sorrow  which  they  have  been 
taught  to  consider  as  an  ordeal  that  must  be  passed 
through  before  they  can  arrive  at  regeneration.  We 
can  but  think  that  such  souls  mistake  the  nature  of 
religion.  The  slightest  sorrow  for  sins  is  sufficient 
if  it  produces  amendment,  but  the  greatest  is  insuf- 
ficient if  it  do  not.  By  their  own  fruits  let  them  prove 
themselves,  for  some  soils  will  take  the  good  seed 
without  being  watered  by  tears  or  harrowed  up  by 
afflictions. 

There  are  three  modes  of  bearing  the  ills  of  life — 
by  indifference,  which  is  the  most  common;  by  phi- 
losophy, which  is  the  most  ostentatious ;  and  by 


RELIGION.  585 

religion,  which  is  the  most  effectual.  It  has  been 
said,  "  Philosophy  readily  triumphs  over  past  or 
future  evils,  but  that  present  evils  triumph  over 
philosophy."  Philosophy  is  a  goddess  whose  head  is, 
indeed,  in  heaven,  but  whose  feet  are  upon  earth; 
attempts  more  than  she  accomplishes  and  promises 
more  than  she  performs.  She  can  teach  us  to  hear 
of  the  calamities  of  others  with  magnanimity,  but  it 
is  religion  only  that  can  teach  us  to  bear  our  own 
with  resignation. 

Whoever  thinks  of  life  as  something  that  could 
exist  in  its  best  form  without  religion  is  in  ignorance 
of  both.  Li£e  and  religion  is  one,  or  neither  is  any 
thing.  Religion  is  the  good  to  which  all  things 
tend ;  which  gives  to  life  all  its  importance,  to 
eternity  all  its  glory.  Apart  from  religion  man  is 
a  shadow,  his  very  existence  a  riddle,  and  the  stu- 
pendous scenes  around  him  as  incoherent  and  un- 
meaning as  the  leaves  which  the  sibyl  scattered  in 
the  wind. 

We  are  surrounded  by  motives  to  religion  and 
devotion  if  we  would  but  mind  them.  The  poor  are 
designed  to  excite  our  liberality,  the  miserable  cur 
pity,  the  sick  our  assistance,  the  ignorant  our  instruc- 
tion, those  that  are  fallen  our  helping  hand.  In  those 
who  are  vain  we  see  the  vanity  of  the  world,  in  those 
who  are  wicked  our  own  frailty.  When  we  see  good 
men  rewarded  it  confirms  our  hopes,  and  when  evil 
men  are  punished  it  excites  our  fears.  He  that  grows 
old  without  religious  hopes,  as  he  declines  into  age, 
and  feels  pains  and  sorrows  incessantly  crowding  him, 


586  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

falls  into  a  gulf  of  misery,  in  which  every  reflection 
must  plague  him  deeper  and  deeper. 

It  is  the  property  of  the  religious  spirit  to  be  the 
most  refining  of  all  influences.  It  has  been  termed 
the  social  religion,  and  society  is  as  properly  the 
sphere  of  all  its  duties,  privileges,  and  enjoyments 
as  the  ecliptic  is  the  course  of  the  earth.  No  exter- 
nal advantage,  no  culture  of  the  tastes,  no  habit  of 
command,  no  association  with  the  elegant,  or  even 
depths  of  affection  can  bestow,  that  delicacy  and  that 
grandeur  of  bearing  which  belong  only  to  the  mind 
which  has  experienced  the  discipline  of  religious 
thought  and  feeling.  All  else,  all  superficial  aids  to 
etiquette,  manner,  and  refinement  as  expressed  in 
look  and  gesture,  is  but  as  gilt  and  cosmetic. 

Your  personal  value  depends  entirely  upon  your 
possession  of  religion.  You  are  worth  to  yourself 
what  you  are  capable  of  enjoying,  you  are  worth  to 
society  the  happiness  you  are  capable  of  imparting. 
A  man  whose  aims  are  low,  whose  motives  are  selfish, 
who  has  in  his  heart  no  adoration  of  God,  whose  will 
is  not  subordinate  to  the  supreme  will,  who  has  no 
hope,  no  tenable  faith  in  a  happy  immortality,  no 
strong-armed  trust  that  with  his  soul  it  shall  be  well 
in  all  the  future,  can  not  be  worth  very  much  to  him- 
self. Neither  can  such  a  man  be  worth  very  much 
to  society,  because  he  has  not  that  to  bestow  which 
society  most  needs  for  its  prosperity  and  happiness. 

Christianity  teaches  the  beauty  and  dignity  of 
common  and  private  life.  It  makes  it  valuable,  not 
for  the  cares  from  which  it  fr^es  us,  but  for  the  con- 


RELIGION.  587 

stant  duties  through  which  we  may  train  the  soul  to 
perfect  sympathy  with  the  design  of  the  Creator. 
It  shows  that  the  humblest  lot  possesses  opportuni- 
ties which  require  the  energies  of  the  most  exalted 
virtues  to  meet  and  satisfy.  It  impresses  upon  us 
the  solemn  truth  that  life  itself,  however  humble  its 
condition,  is  always  holy  ;  that  every  moment  has  its 
duty  and  its  responsibility,  which  Christian  strength 
alone,  the  crown  of  power,  can  do  and  bear.  It 
teaches  that  the  simplest  experience  may  become 
radiant  with  a  heavenly  beauty  when  hallowed  by  a 
spirit  of  constant  love  to  God  and  man. 

Another  of  the  "lessons  of  Christianity  is  that  of 
the  inestimable  worth  of  common  duties  as  manifest- 
ing the  greatest  principles.  It  bids  us  to  attain 
perfection,  not  striving  to  do  dazzling  deeds,  but  by 
making  our  experience  divine.  It  shows  us  that  the 
Christian  hero  will  ennoble  the  humblest  field  of 
labor,  that  nothing  is  mean  which  can  be  performed 
as  a  duty,  but  that  religion,  like  the  touch  of  Midas, 
converts  the  humblest  call  of  duty  into  spiritual  gold. 


588  (JOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 


The  day  is  Thine,  the  night  also  is  Thine  ; 
Thou  hast  prepared  the  light  and  the  sun  ; 
Thou  hast  set  all  the  borders  of  the  earth ; 
Thou  hast  made  Summer  and  Winter." 

—PSALMS. 

;HE  height  of  the  heavens  should  remind  us  of 
the  infinite  distance  between  us  and  God,  the 
jj  brightness  of  the  firmament  of  his  glory,  maj- 
esty, and  holiness,  the  vastness  of  the  heavens 
and  their  influence  upon  the  earth,  of  his  immensity 
and  universal  providence.  Hill  and  valley,  seas  and 
constellations  are  but  stereotypes  of  divine  ideas, 
appealing  to  and  answered  by  the  living  soul  of  man. 
The  works  of  nature  and  the  works  of  revelation  dis- 
play religion  to  mankind  in  characters  so  large  and 
visible  that  those  who  are  not  quite  blind  may  in 
them  see  and  read  the  first  principles  and  most  nec- 
essary parts  of  religion,  and  from  thence  penetrate 
into  those  infinite  depths  filled  with  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge. 

God  writes  the  Gospel  not  in  the  Bible  alone, 
but  on  trees  and  flowers  and  clouds  and  stars.  All  • 
nature,  in  short,  speaks  in  language  plain  to  be  un- 
derstood of  the  majesty  and  power  of  its  Author. 
Nature  is  man's  religious  book,  with  lessons  for 
every  day.  Nature  is  the  chart  of  God,  marking  out 
al!  his  attributes.  A  man  finds  in  the  production  of 
nature  an  inexhaustible  stock  of  materials  upon  which 
he  can  employ  himself  without  any  temptation  tc 


GOD  IN  NATURE.  589 

envy  or  malevolence,  and  has  always  a  certain  pros- 
pect of  discovering  new  reasons  for  adoring  the  sov- 
ereign Author  of  the  universe.  What  profusion  is 
there  in  his  work !  When  trees  blossom,  there  is 
not  simply  one,  but  a  whole  collection  of  gems  ;  and 
of  leaves,  they  have  so  many  that  they  can  throw 
them  away  to  the  winds  all  Summer  long.  What 
unnumbered  cathedrals  has  he  reared  in  the  forest 
shades,  vast  and  grand,  full  of  curious  carvings,  and 
haunted  evermore  by  tremulous  music  ;  and  in  the 
heavens  above,  how  do  stars  seem  to  have  flown  out 
of  his  hand  faster  than  sparks  out  of  a  mighty  forge ! 

These  insignia  of  wisdom  and  power  are  im- 
pressed upon  the  works  of  God,  which  distinguishes 
them  from  the  feeble  imitation  of  men.  Not  only 
the  splendor  of  the  sun,  but  the  glimmering  light  of 
the  glow-worm,  proclaim  his  glory.  God  has  placed 
nature  by  the  side  of  man  as  a  friend,  who^ remains 
always  to  guide  and  console  him  in  life  ;  as  a  pro- 
tecting genius,  who  conducts  him,  as  well  as  all  spe- 
cies, to  a  harmonious  unity  with  himself.  The  earth 
is  the  material  bosom  which  bears  all  the  races. 
Nature  arouses  man  from  the  sleep  in  which  he 
would  remain  without  thought  of  himself,  inspires 
him  with  noble  designs,  and  preserves  thus  in  human- 
ity activity  and  life. 

The  best  of  all  books  is  the  book  of  nature.  It 
is  full  of  variety,  interest,  novelty,  and  instruction. 
It  is  ever  open  before  us.  It  invites  us  to  read,  and 
all  that  it  requires  of  us  is  the  will  to  do  it ;  with 
eyes  to  see,  with  ears  to  hear,  with  hearts  and  souls 


590  GOLDEN  OEMS  OF  LIFE, 

to  feel,  and  with  minds  and  understandings  to  com- 
prehend. Infinite  intelligence  was  required  to  com- 
pose this  mighty  volume,  which  never  fails  to  impart 
the  highest  wisdom  to  those  who  peruse  it  attent- 
ively and  rightly,  with  willing  hearts  and  humble 
•minds.  Nature  has  perfection,  in  order  to  show  that 
she  is  the  image  of  God  ;  and  defects,  in  order  to 
show  that  she  is  only  his  image. 

The  study  of  nature  must  ever  lead  to  true  re- 
ligion ;  hence  let  there  be  no  fear  that  the  issues 
of  natural  science  shall  be  skepticism  or  anarchy. 
Through  all  God's  works  there  runs  a  beautiful  har- 
mony. The  remotest  truth  in  his  universe  is  linked 
to  that  which  lies  nearest  the  throne.  It  has  been 
said  that  "an  undevout  astronomer  is  mad."  With 
still  greater  force  might  it  be  said  that  he  who  attent- 
ively studies  nature  and  fails  to  see  in  her  ways 
the  workings  of  Providence  must,  indeed,  be  blind. 
Who  the  guide  of  nature,  but  only  the  God  of 
nature  ?  In  him  we  live,  move,  and  have  our  being. 
Those  things  which  nature  is  said  to  do  are  by 
divine  art  performed,  using  nature  as  an  instrument. 
Nor  is  there  any  such  divine  knowledge  working  in 
nature  herself,  but  in  the  guide  of  nature's  work. 

Examine  what  department  of  nature  that  we  will, 
we  are  speedily  convinced  of  an  intelligent  plan 
running  throughout  all  the  works,  which  eloquently 
proclaims  a  divine  author.  In  the  rock-ribbed  strata 
of  the  earth  we  can  read  as  intelligently  as  though 
it  were  written  on  parchment  the  story  of  the  crea- 
tion. And  what  so  interesting  as  this  rock-written 


GOD  IN  NATURE.  591 

history  of  the  world  slowly  fitting"  for  mankind  ? 
Read  of  the  coal  stored  away  for  future  use ;  of 
whole  continents  plowed  by  glaciers,  and  made 
fertile  for  man.  Think  of  the  aeons  of  ages  that 
this  earth  swung  in  space,  all  the  types  of  creation 
prophecy  ing  of  the  coming  of  man !  Who  can  pon- 
der these  o'er  without  coming  to  the  belief  of  an 
author  and  finisher  of  all  this  glory?  Thus  does  a 
devout  study  of  nature  discover  to  us  the  God  of 
nature. 

Go  stand  upon  the  heights  at  Niagara,  and  listen 
in  awe-struck  silence  to  that  boldest,  most  earnest, 
and  most  eloquent  of  all  nature's  oracles!  And  what 
is  Niagara,  with  its  plunging  waters  and  its  mighty 
roar,  but  the  oracle  of  God — the  whisper  of  his  voice 
is  revealed  in  the  Bible  as  sitting  above  the  water- 
floods  forever!  Or  view  the  stupendous  scenery  of 
Alpine  countries,  and  there,  amid  rock  and  snow, 
overlooking  the  valleys  below,  we  feel  a  senje  of 
the  presence  of  Divinity.  Or,  wandering  on  ocean 
beach,  watching  the  play  of  the  waves,  or  listening 
to  the  roar  of  the  breakers,  our  hearts  are  impressed 
with  a  sense  of  the  power  and  majesty  of  God.  In 
short,  wherever  we  contemplate  the  vast  or  wonderful 
in  nature,  there  we  experience  a  religious  exaltation 
of  spirit.  It  is  the  soul  within  us  placing  itself  en 
rapport  with  the  soul  of  nature,  the  great  first  cause. 

Go  stand  upon  the  Areopagus  of  Athens,  where 
Paul  stood  so  long  ago.  In  thoughtful  silence  look 
around  upon  the  site  of  all  that  ancient  greatness  ; 
look  upward  to  those  still  glorious  skies  of  Greece, 


592  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

and  what  conceptions  of  wisdom  and  power  will  all 
those  memorable  scenes  of  nature  and  art  convey  to 
your  mind,  now  more  than  they  did  to  an  ancient 
worshiper  of  Jupiter  and  Apollo !  They  will  tell 
of  Him  who  made  the  worlds,  "by  whom,  through 
whom,  and  for  whom  are  all  things."  To  you  that 
landscape  of  exceeding  beauty,  so  rich  in  the  monu- 
ments of  departed  genius,  with  its  distant  classic 
mountains,  its  deep,  blue  sea,  and  its  bright,  bending 
skies  will  be  telling  a  tale  of  glory  that  the  Grecian 
never  learned ;  for  it  will  speak  to  you  no  more  of 
its  thousand  contending  deities,  but  of  the  one  living 
and  everlasting  God. 


E  Bible  is  a  book  whose  words  live  in  the  ear 
like  music  that  can  never  be  forgotten,  like  the 
sound  of  church-bells,  which  the  convert  hardly 
knows  how  he  can  forego.  Its  felicities  often 
seem  to  be  things  rather  than  mere  words.  It  is  a 
part  of  the  national  mind,  and  the  anchor  of  national 
seriousness.  The  memory  of  the  dead  passes  into 
it ;  the  potent  traditions  of  childhood  are  stereotyped 
in  its  verses.  The  power  of  all  the  griefs  and  trials 
of  man  is  hidden  beneath  its  words.  It  is  the  repre- 
sentative of  his  best  moments,  and  all  that  has  been 
around  him  of  the  highest  and  best  speaks  to  him 
out  of  his  Bible. 


THE  BIBLE.  593 

The  Bible  is  the  oldest  surviving  monument  of 
the  springtime  of  the  human  intellect.  It  reveals  to 
us  the  character  and  intellect  of  our  great  Creator 
and  Final  Judge.  ^  It  opens  before  us  the  way  of  sal- 
vation through  'a  Redeemer,  unveils  to  our  view  the 
invisible  world,  and 'shows  us  the  final  destiny  of  our 
race.  God's  Word  is,  in  fact,  much  like  God's  world, 
varied,  very  rich,  very  beautiful.  You  never  know 
when  you  have  exhausted  all  its  merits.  The  Bible, 
like  nature,  has  something  for  every  class  of  minds. 
Look  at  the  Bible  in  a  new  light,  and  straightway  you 
see  some  new  charm.  The  Bible  goes  equally  to  the 
cottage  of  the  poor  man  and  the  palace  of  the  king. 
It  is  woven  into  literature,  and  it  colors  the  talk  of 
the  street.  The  bark  of  the  merchant  can  not  sail  to 
sea  without  it.  No  ship  of  war  goes  to  the  conflict 
but  the  Bible  is  there.  It  enters  men's  closets,  mirr- 
gling  in  all  the  grief  and  cheerfulness  of  life. 

The  Bible  is  adapted  to  every  possible  variety  of 
taste,  temperament,  culture,  and  condition.  It  has 
strong  reasoning  for  the  intellectual.  It  takes  the 
calm  and  contemplative  to  the  well-balanced  James, 
a4id  the  affectionate  to  the  loving  and  beloved  John. 
Not  only  is  this  book  precious  to  the  poor  and  un- 
learned, not  only  is  it  the  consoler  of  the  great  middle 
class  of  society,  both  spiritually  and  mentally  speak- 
ing, but  the  scholar  and  the  sage,  the  intellectual 
monarch  of  the  age,  bow  to  its  authority. 

To  multitudes  of  our  race  it  is  not  only  the  foun- 
dation of  their  religious  faith,  but  it  is  their  daily 

practical  guide   as  well.      It  has  taken  hold  of   the 
38 


594  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

world  as  no  other  book  ever  did.  Not  only  is  it  read 
in  all  Christian  pulpits,  but  it  enters  evesy  habitation, 
from  the  palace  to  the  cottage.  It  is  the  golden  chain 
which  binds  hearts  together  at  the  marriage  altar; 
it  contains  the  sacred  formula  for  the  baptismal  rite 
It  blends  itself  with  our  daily  conversation,  and  is  the 
silver  thread  of  all  our  best  reading,  giving  its  hue, 
more  or  less  distinctly,  to  book,  periodical,  and  daily 
paper.  On  the  seas  it  goes  with  the  mariner  as  his 
spiritual  chart  and  compass,  and  on  the  land  it  is  to 
untold  millions  their  pillar  cloud  by  day  and  their  fire 
column  by  night. 

In  the  closet  and  in  the  streets,  amid  temptation 
and  trials,  this  is  man's  most  faithful  attendant  and 
his  strongest  shield.  It  is  our  lamp  through  the 
dark  valley,  and  the  radiator  of  our  best  light  from 
the  solemn  and  unseen  future.  Stand  before  it  as 
before  a  mirror,  and  you  will  see  there  not  only  your 
good  traits,  but  your  errors,  follies,  and  sins,  which 
you  did  not  imagine  were  until  you  thus  examined 
yourself.  If  you  desire  to  make  constant  improve- 
ment, go  to  the  Bible.  It  not  only  shows  the  way 
of  all  progress,  but  it  incites  you  to  go  forward.  It 
opens  before  you  a  path  leading  up  and  still  onward, 
along  which  good  angels  will  cheer  you,  and  all  that 
is  good  will  lend  you  a  helping  hand. 

There  is  no  book  so  well  adapted  to  improve  both 
the  head  and  the  heart  as  the  Bible.  It  is  a  tried 
book.  Its  utility  is  demonstrated  by  experience  ;  its 
necessity  is  confessed  by  all  who  have  studied  the 
wants  of  human  nature ;  it  has  wrung  reluctant  praise 


THE  BIBLE.  595 

even  from  the  lips  of  its  foes.  Other  books  bespeak 
their  own  age  ;  the  Bible  was  made  for  all  ages.  Un- 
inspired authors  speculate  upon  truths  before  made 
known,  and  often  upon  delusive  imaginations ;  the 
Bible  reveals  truths  before  unknown,  and  otherwise 
unknowable.  It  is  distinguished  for  its  exact  and 
universal  truth.  Time  and  criticism  only  illustrate 
and  confirm  its  pages.  Successive  ages  reveal  noth- 
ing to  change  the  Bible  representations  of  God, 
nothing  to  correct  the  Bible  representation  of  human 
nature.  Passing  events  fulfill  its  prophecies,  but  fail 
to  impeach  its  allegations. 

The  Scriptures  teach  us  the  best  way  of  living, 
the  noblest  way  of  suffering,  and  the  most  comfort- 
able way  of  dying.  A  mind  rightly  disposed  will 
easily  discover  the  image  of  God's  wisdom  in  the 
depths  of  its  mysteries,  the  image  of  God's  sov- 
ereignty in  the  commanding  majesty  of  its  style,  the 
image  of  his  unity  in  the  wonderful  harmony  and 
symmetry  of  all  its  parts,  the  image  of  his  holiness 
in  the  unspotted  purity  of  its  precepts,  and  the  image 
of  his  goodness  in  the  wonderful  tendency  of  the 
whole  to  the  welfare  of  mankind  in  both  worlds.  We 
should  use  the  Scriptures  not  as  an  arsenal,  to  be 
resorted  to  only  for  arms  and  weapons,  but  as  a 
matchless  temple  where  we  delight  to  contemplate 
the  beauty,  the  symmetry,  and  the  magnificence  of 
the  '  structure,  and  to  increase  our  awe  and  excite 
our  devotion  to  the  Deity  there  proclaimed. 

The  cheerless  gloom  which  broods  over  the  un- 
derstandings of  men  had  never  been  chased  away  but 


596  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

for  the  beams  of  a  supernatural  revelation.  Men 
may  look  with  an  unfriendly  eye  on  that  system  of 
truth  which  reproves  and  condemns  them  ;  but  they 
little  know  the  loss  the  world  would  sustain  by  sub- 
verting its  foundations.  We  have  tried  paganism, 
we  have  tried  Mohammedanism,  we  have  tried  Deism 
and  philosophy,  and  we  can  not  look  upon  them  even 
with  respect.  The  Scriptures  contain  the  only  sys- 
tem of  truth  which  is  left  us.  If  we  give  up  these, 
we  have  no  others  to  which  we  can  repair. 


^HERE  are  two  questions,  one  of  which  is  the 
most  important,  the  other  the  most  interesting 
that  can  be  proposed  in  language:  Are  we  to 
live  after  death?  and  if  «ve  are,  in  what  state? 
These  are  questions  confined  to  no  climate,  creed,  or 
community.  The  savage  is  as  deeply  interested  in 
them  as  the  sage,  and  they  are  of  equal  import 
under  every  meridian  where  there  are  men. 

Among  the  most  effectual  and  most  beautiful 
modes  of  reasoning  that  the  universe  affords  for  the 
hope  that  is  within  us  of  a  life  beyond  the  tomb 
there  is  none  more  beautiful  or  exquisite  than  that 
derived  from  the  change  of  the  seasons,  from  the 
second  life  that  bursts  forth  in  Spring  in  objects  ap- 
parently dead,  and  from  the  shadowing  forth  in  the 
renovation  of  every  thing  around  us  of  that  destiny 


FUTURE  LIFE.  597 

which  divine  revelation  calls  upon  our  faith  to  believe 
shall  be  ours.  The  trees  that  have  .faded  and  re- 
mained dark  and  gray  through  the  long,  dreary  life 
of  Winter  clothe  themselves  again  with  green  in  the 
Spring  sunshine,  and  every  hue  speaks  of  life.  The 
buds  that  were  trampled  down  and  faded  burst  forth 
once  more  in  freshness  and  beauty,  the  streams  break 
from  the  icy  chains  that  held  them,  and  the  glorious 
sun  himself  comes  wandering  from  his  far-off  journey, 
giving  warmth  to  the  atmosphere  and  renewed  beauty 
and  grace  to  every  thing  around,  and  every  thing 
we  see  rekindles  into  life. 

At  all  times  and  in  all  places  men  have  contem- 
plated the  questions  of  death  and  immortatity. 
The  one  is  a  stern  reality  from  which  they  know 
there  is  no  escaping.  Every  day  they  see  friends  and 
acquaintances  drooping  and  dying.  Their  pleasure 
drives  are  interrupted  by  the  funeral  cortege  of 
strangers.  There  is  not  a  soul  but  what  in  reflective 
moments  has  pondered  the  question  of  immortality. 
If  they  see  clearly  under  the  guiding  light  of  Chris- 
tianity the  future  is  full  of  hope  to  them.  It  matters 
but  little  their  present  surroundings.  If  poverty  and 
pain  be  their  lot,  they  know  that  rest  will  come  to 
them  later.  Those  who  do  not  possess  this  pleasing 
hope  of  immortality  feel  at  times  a  painful  longing,  a 
vague  unrest.  Philosophize  as  they  will,  the  future 
is  dark  and  uncertain,  and  there  are  times  when  they 
would  willingly  give  all  could  they  but  see  a  beacon 
light  or  feel  the  strong  assurance  of  faith  that  they 
would  live  again. 


598  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

Surely,  there  is  tenable  ground  for  this  hope !  It 
can  not  be  that  earth  is  man's  only  abiding  place.  It 
can  not  be  that  our  life  is  a  bubble  cast  up  by  the  ocean 
of  eternity  to  float  for  a  moment  upon  its  surface,  and 
then  sink  into  nothingness  and  darkness  forever. 
Else  why  is  it  that  the  high  and  glorious  aspirations, 
which  leap  like  angels  from  the  temples  of  our  hearts, 
are  forever  wandering  abroad  satisfied  ?  Why  is  it 
that  the  rainbow  and  the  cloud  come  over  us  with  a 
beauty  that  is  not  of  earth,  and  then  pass  off  and 
leave  us  to  muse  on  their  faded  loveliness  ?  Why  is 
it  that  the  stars  which  hold  their  festival  around  the 
midnight  throne  are  set  above  the  grasp  of  our  lim- 
ited faculties,  and  are  forever  mocking  us  with  their 
unapproachable  glory?  Finally,  why  is  it  that  bright 
forms  of  human  beauty  are  presented  to  the  view, 
and  then  taken  from  us,  leaving  the  thousand  streams 
of  affection  to  flow  back  upon  our  hearts?  We  are 
from  a  higher  destiny  than  that  of  earth.  There  is 
a  realm  where  the  rainbow  never  fades,  where  the 
stars  will  be  spread  out  before  us  like  the  islands  on 
the  bosom  of  the  ocean,  and  where  the  beautiful 
beings  that  here  pass  before  us  like  visions  will 
remain  with  us  forever. 

As  death  approaches  and  earth  recedes  do  we  not 
more  clearly  see  that  spiritual  world  in  which  we 
have  all  along  been  living,  though  we  knew  it  not? 
The  dying  man  tells  us  of  attendant  angels  hovering 
around  him.  Perchance  it  is  no  vision.  They  might 
have  been  with  him  through  life.  They  may  attend 
us  all  through  life,  only  our  inward  eyes  are  dim  and 


TIME  AND  ETERNITY.  599 

we  see  them  not.  What  is  that  mysterious  expres- 
sion, so  holy  and  so  strange,  so  beautiful  yet  so 
fearful,  on  the  countenance  of  one  whose  soul  has 
just  departed?  May  it  not  be  the  glorious  light 
of  attendant  seraphs,  the  luminous  shadow  of  which 
rests  awhile  on  the  countenance  of  the  dead? 


*Why  shrinks  the  soul 

Back  on  herself,  and  startles  at  destruction  ? 
'Tis  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us; 
'Tis  heaven  itself  that  points  out  an  hereafter, 
And  intimates  eternity  to  man. 
Eternity,  thou  pleasing,  dreadful  thought ! 
Thro'  what  variety  of  untried  being, 
Thro'  what  new  scenes  and  changes  must  we  pass? 
The  wide,  the  unbounded  prospect  lies  before  me; 
But  shadows,  clouds,  and  darkness  rest  upon  it." 

— ADDISON. 

.  LAS!  what  is  man?  Whether  he  be  deprived 
of  that  light  which  is  from  on  high,  or  whether 
he  discards  it,  he  is  a  frail  and  trembling  crea- 
ture, standing  on  time,  that  bleak  and  narrow 
isthmus  between  two  eternities ;  he  sees  nothing  but 
impenetrable  darkness  on  the  one  hand,  and  doubt, 
distrust,  and  conjecture  still  more  perplexing  on  the 
other.  Most  gladly  would  he  take  an  observation  as 
to  whence  he  has  come,  or  whither  he  is  going ; 
alas  I  he  has  not  the  means ;  his  telescope  is  too 
dim,  his  compass  too  wavering,  his  plummet  too 


600  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

short;  nor  is  that  little  spot,  his  present  state,  one 
whit  more  intelligible,  since  it  may  prove  a  quicksand 
that  may  sink  in  a  moment  from  his  feet.  It  can 
afford  him  no  certain  reckonings  as  to  that  immeas- 
urable ocean  on  which  he  must  soon  spread  his  sail 

an  awful  expedition,  from  which  the  mind  shrinks 
from  comtemplating.  Nor  is  the  gloom  relieved  by 
the  outfit  in  which  the  voyage  must  be  undertaken. 
The  bark  is  a  coffin,  the  destination  is  doubt,  and 
the  helmsman  is  death.  Faith  alone  can  see  the 
star  which  is  to  guide  him  to  a  better  land. 

The  hour-glass  is  truly  emblematical  of  the  world. 
As  its  sands  run  out  at  the  termination  of  a  given 
period,  so  it  shows  that  all  things  must  have  an  end. 
It  shows  that  man  may  devise — may  even  execute — 
but  that  erelong  time,  that  restless  destroyer,  comes, 
and  mows  all  before  him,  and  leaves  naught  but  a 
wreck,  a  barren  waste  behind  him.  Surely  all  will 
give  credence  to  this  who  watch  the  daily  dying  of 
cherished  hopes,  of  delightful  anticipations.  The 
flame  burns  brightly  at  first,  but  it  soon  fluctuates, 
and  finally  dies  without  restriction. 

We  must,  some  time  or  other,  enter  on  the  last 
year  of  our  life;  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  may  yet 
come,  and  the  procession  may  seem  interminable,  but 
the  closing  year  of  our  life  must  come.  There  are 
many  years  memorable  in  history,  as  in  them  died 
men  of  renown  ;  but  the  year  of  our  death  will  be 
more  memorable  to  us  than  any.  Eighteen  hun 
dred  and  fifteen  was  a  memorable  year,  for  in  that 
Waterloo  was  fought ;  but  there  will  be  a  mere 


TIME  AND  ETERNITY.  601 

memorable  year  for  us — the  year  in  which  we  fight 
the  battle  with  the  last  enemy.  That  year  will  open 
with  the  usual  New-year's  congratulations ;  it  will 
rejoice  in  the  same  orchard  blossoming,  and  the 
sweet  influences  of  Spring.  It  will  witness  the 
golden  glory  of  the  harvest,  and  the  merry-makings 
of  Christmas.  And  yet  to  us  it  will  be  vastly  dif- 
ferent, from  the  fact  that  it  will  be  our  closing  year. 
The  Spring  grass  may  be  broken  by  the  spade  to  let 
us  down  to  our  resting-place  ;  or,  while  the  Summer 
grain  is  falling  to  the  sickle,  we  may  be  harvested 
for  another  world ;  or,  while  the  Autumnal  leaves  are 
flying  in  the  November  gale,  we  may  fade  and  fall ; 
or,  the  driving  sleet  may  cut  the  faces  of  the  black- 
tasseled  horses  that  take  us  on  our  last  ride.  But 
it  will  be  the  year  in  which  our  body  and  soul  part — 
the  year  in  which,  for  us,  time  ends  and  eternity 
begins.  All  other  years  fade  away  as  nothing.  The 
year  in  which  we  were  born,  the  year  in  which  we 
began  business,  the  year  in  which  our  father  died, 
are  all  of  them  of  less  importance  to  us  than  the  year 
of  our  death. 

It  is  only  when  on  the  border  of  eternity  that  the 
fleeting  period  of  life  is  comprehended.  Human  life, 
what  is  it  ?  It  is  vapor  gilded  by  a  sunbeam — the 
reflection  of  heaven  in  the  waters  of  the  earth.  In 
youth  the  other  world  seems  a  great  way  off,  but 
later  we  feel  and  realize  that  it  is  close  at  hand.  We 
come,  like  the  ocean  wave,  to  the  shore,  but  scarcely 
strike  the  strand  before  we  roll  back  into  forgetful- 
ness,  whence  we  came. 


602  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

In  the  light  of  eternity,  how  vain  and  foolish 
appear  the  contentions  and  strifes  of  mankind !  Ad- 
dison  most  beautifully  expresses  this  thought  in  these 
lines:  "When  I  look  upon  the  tombs  of  the  great 
every  emotion  of  envy  dies ;  when  I  read  the  epitaph 
of  the  beautiful  every  inordinate  desire  forsakes  me; 
when  I  meet  with  the  grief  of  parents  upon  a  tomb- 
stone my  heart  melts  with  compassion;  when  I  see 
the  tombs  of  the  parents  themselves  I  reflect  how 
vain  it  is  to  grieve  for  those  we  must  quickly  follow; 
when  I  see  kings  lying  beside  those  who  deposed 
them,  when  I  see  rival  wits  placed  side  by  side,  or 
the  holy  men  who  divided  the  world  with  their  con- 
tests and  disputes,  I  reflect  with  sorrow  and  aston- 
ishment on  the  frivolous  competitions,  factions,  and 
debates  of  mankind." 


05 

Old  age,  serene  and  bright, 
And  lovely  as  a  Lapland  night, 
Shall  lead  thee  to  thy  grave." 

— WORDSWORTH. 

iHERE  is  a  beauty  in  age.  The  morning  of 
life  may  be  glowing  with  the  expectations  of 
youth ;  the  noon  may  be  fruitful  in  endeavors 
and  works ;  but  the  evening  of  life  is  the  time 
of  calm  repose  and  holy  meditation.  When  young 
and  standing  where  the  glow  of  youthful  hopes  irra- 


TffiE     EV-EW  D  M  fc     ©  F     LO  FE 


'  Man's  p  oru 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE.  603 

diates  the  future  how  natural  to  lay  out  brilliant 
plans!  to  form  ambitious  resolves!  How  easy  it 
seems  to  achieve  any  wished-for  thing!  Wealth, 
fame,  or  any  temporal  good  —  surely  we  can  attain 
them!  Experience  soon  shows  us  the  futility  of 
these  hopes  and  plans.  Before  many  mile-stones 
are  passed  in  the  journey  of  life  we  learn  that  God, 
in  his  wisdom,  has  so  apportioned  trial  and  suffering 
that  it  matters  little  the  external  surroundings  ;  to 
all  it  is  full  of  work  and  anxieties  and  painful  scenes, 
and  that  it  is  in  struggling  against  these  that  the 
best  development  of  power  is  acquired. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  when  once  confronted  by  the 
stern  realities  of  life  we  should  lose  sight  of  the. 
dreams  of  youth.  Manhood's  days  are  the  days  of 
reflection,  of  judgment,  a  wise  adaptation  of  means 
to  the  end  desired,  and,  if  but  used  aright,  we  need 
have  little  occasion  for  regret  that  childhood's  days 
are  passed.  We  are  no  longer  children ;  we  are 
men  and  women.  We  are  no  longer  engaged  in 
childish  dreams ;  we  are  up  and  doing  what  God 
has  assigned  to  us.  This  is  the  period  of  life  that 
we  would  most  willingly  see  prolonged.  But  time 
stops  not  in  his  rapid  flight.  In  vain  our  protests. 
The  sun  as  swiftly  descends  to  its  setting  as  it  rose 
to  its  noon.  The  form  that  so  rapidly  matured  into 
one  of  grace,  strength,  and  manly  attributes  of  char- 
acter, is  bowed  by  the  weight  of  years.  The  elas- 
ticity of  youth  gives  way  to  the  measured  step  and 
careful  tread  of  age,  and  on  the  head  time  sprinkles 
his  snow. 


604  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

It  is  now  that  the  thoughts  of  man  should  assume 
their  most  valued  characteristics.  They  can  muse 
over  the  events  of  past  years.  They  can  contemplate 
the  mysteries  of  the  future.  The  most  momentous 
period  of  life  is  about  at  hand — that  time  when  they 
will  exchange  this  life  for  another.  What  age  can 
there  be  more  important  than  this  ?  It  is  natural  for 
youth  to  regard  old  age  as  a  dreary  season — one 
that  admits  of  nothing  that  can  be  called  pleasure, 
and  very  little  that  deserves  the  name  even  of  com- 
fort. They  look  forward  to  it  as  in  Autumn  we 
anticipate  the  approach  of  Winter,  forgetting  that 
Winter,  when  it  arrives,  brings  with  it  much  of 
pleasure.  Its  enjoyments  are  of  different  kinds,  but 
we  find  it  not  less  pleasant  than  any  other  season  of 
the  year. 

In  like  manner  age  has  no  terror  to  those  who  see 
it  near;  but  experience  proves  that  it  abounds  with 
consolations,  and  even  with  delights.  The  world  in 
general  bows  down  to  age,  gives  it  preference,  and 
listens  with  deference  to  its  opinions.  Such  rever- 
ence must  be  soothing  to  age,  and  compensate  it 
for  the  loss  of  many  of  the  enjoyments  of  youth. 
"The  true  man  does  not  wish  tc  be  a  child  again." 
In  individual  experience  how  many  have  wished  to 
live  again  the  past  ?  Could  we  return,  and  carry 
with  us  our  present  experience,  all  would  wish  to  do 
so,  but  to  go  over  the  same  old  round  we  are  afraid 
that  the  number  of  those  whose  life  has  been  so 
happy  that  they  would  wish  to  live  it  over  again 
is  exceedingly  small.  Your  present  experience  will 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE.  605 

remain  with  you  through  life.  And  hence,  old  age, 
as  devoid  of  pleasure  as  it  may  appear  to  us  now, 
we  will  find  that  when  the  passage  of  years  brings  us 
to  that  point  we  will  not  willingly  exchange  it  for  any 
of  the  stages  of  life  gone  by. 

As  there  is  nothing  unlovely  in  age,  when  once 
at  its  threshold,  so  death,  when  viewed  in  the  right 
spirit,  is  found  to  be  but  the  pleasant  transition  stage 
to  a  more  glorious  and  perfect  life.  From  the  days 
of  Plato  to  the  present  men  have  doubted  and  won- 
dered as  to  the  questions  of  immortality  and  its  na- 
ture. But  none  have  approached  the  question  in  the 
right  spirit  but  what  always  the  result  has  been 
the  same.  Revelation  and  analogical  reasoning  both 
point  to  the  same  glorious  hope.  What,  then,  shall 
we  view  it  with  terror?  Ought  we  not  to  look  for- 
ward to  it  longingly  as  the  final  triumph  of  a  well- 
lived  life?  Though  success  and  fortune  may  have 
been  ours  here,  are  they  any  thing  more  or  less 
than  the  accidental  circumstances  surrounding  an 
ephemeral  existence?  In  the  light  of  eternity  does 
it  make  any  great  difference  whether  that  existence 
was  passed  surrounded  with  the  comforts  of  wealth 
or  strugging  for  the  necessities  of  life? 

We  are  all  equal  in  death;  the  king  and  the 
peasant,  the  rich  and  the  poor  are  all  alike  in  this 
respect.  Surely,  that  which  is  thus  the  common  lot 
of  humanity  must  be  for  the  common  good.  The 
universal  dread  of  death  is,  then,  the  effect  of  erro- 
neous habits  of  thought.  It  is  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor.  We  fear  not  the  peaceful  rest  within.  We 


606  GOLDEN  GEMS  OF  LIFE. 

can  not  do  better,  then,  than  to  cultivate  cheerful 
thoughts  in  regard  to  age  and  death.  The  one  is 
the  beautiful  closing  scene  of  earthly  life,  the  other 
the  entrance  to  life  immortal. 


He  who  died  at  Azan  sends 
This  to  comfort  all  his  friends. 

Faithful  friends !     //  lies,  I  know, 

Pale  and  white  and  cold  as  snow; 

And  ye  say,  "Abdallah 's  dead!" 

Weeping  at  the  feet  and  head. 

I  can  see  your  falling  tears, 

I  can  hear  your  sighs  and  prayers ; 

Yet  I  smile  and  whisper  this — 

"/am  not  the  thing  you  kiss: 

Cease  your  tears  and  let  it  lie; 

It  was  mine,  it  is  not  '  I.'  " 

Sweet  friends!   what  the  women  lave, 

For  its  last  bed  of  the  grave, 

Is  but  a  hut  which  I  am  quitting, 

Is  a  garment  no  more  fitting, 

Is  a  cage,  from  which  at  last, 

Like  a  hawk,  my  soul  hath  passed. 

Love  the  inmate,  not  the  room — 

The  wearer,  not  the  garb — the  plume 

Of  the  falcon,  not  the  bars 

Which  kept  him  from  the  splendid  stars  I 

Loving  friends!     Be  wise,  and  dry 
Straightway  every  weeping  eye : 
What  ye  lift  upon  the  bier 
Is  not  worth  a  wistful  tear. 
'Tis  an  empty  sea-shell — one 
Out  of  which  the  pearl  has  gone; 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE.  607 

The  sheli  is  broken — it  lies  there; 
The  pearl,  the  all,  the  soul  is  here. 
'Tis  an  earthen  jar,  whose  lid 
Allah  sealed,  the  while  it  hid 
The  treasure  of  his  treasury, 
A  mind  that  loved  him ;  let  it  lie  ? 
Let  the  shard  be  earth's  once  more, 
Since  the  gold  shines  in  his  store ! 

Allah  glorious  !     Allah  good  1 
Now  thy  world  is  understood; 
Now  the  long,  long  wonder  ends; 
Yet  ye  weep,  my  erring  friends, 
While  the  man  whom  ye  call  dead, 
In  unspoken  bliss,  instead, 
Lives  and  loves  you;  lost,  'tis  true, 
By  such  a  light  as  shines  for  you; 
But  in  the  light  ye  can.  not  see 
Of  unfulfilled  felicity — 
In  enlarging  paradise 
Lives  a  life  that  never  dies. 

Farewell,  friends !     Yet  not  farewell 

Where  I  am  ye,  too,  shall  dwell. 

I  am  gone  before  your  face, 

A  moment's  time,  a  little  space; 

When  ye  come  where  I  have  stepped 

Ye  will  wonder  why  ye  wept; 

Ye  will  know,  by  wise  love  taught, 

That  here  is  all  and  there  is  naught. 

Weep  awhile,  if  ye  are  fain — 
Sunshine  still  must  follow  rain; 
Only  not  at  death — for  death, 
Now  I  know,  is  that  first  breath 
Which  our  souls  draw  when  we  enter 
Life,  which  is  cf  all  life  center. 


608  GOLDEN  GEZfS  OF  LIFE. 

Be  ye  certain  all  seems  love, 

Viewed  from  Allah's  throne  above; 

Be  ye  stout  of  heart,  and  come 

Bravely  onward  to  your  home  ! 

La  Allah  ilia  Allah  !  yea  ! 

Thou  Love  divine  !     Thou  Love  alway  i 

He  that  died  at  Azan  gave 

This  to  those  who  made  his  grave. 


I 


